Little wooden men
by Writing bunny
Summary: Naruto gets adopted at an early age. How far can he get with somebody actually supporting him? And how will he influence the Elemental nations? Rating for language.
1. How it all began

**A.N.:** Here I come with the beginning of my first multichapter story. I have several chapters prewritten, so the updates should be fast. Now enjoy.

**A.N. 2:** Now reposted with less grammar errors. Otherwise the chapter is still the same. I've checked my work recently and was appaled at the grammar of the earliest chapters. So here goes the corrected version. I hope this won't scare off readers with its atrocious grammar anymore. I plan to repost the whole story as soon as I'm done correcting it.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Council chamber~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The council chamber of Konohagakure sometimes tended to be noisy, but today its occupants were really outdoing themselves. Sarutobi refrained from banging his head on the oaken table and for what felt like the hundredth day today ask himself, why did he ever take this job. There must have been some reason, but it currently eluded him.

"I say, this cannot be left, as it is," shrieked one councilwoman or other thus roughly waking the elderly Hokage from his introspection. He sighed in exasperation, quietly, so nobody would notice, and turned his attention to the bickering bunch of self-important diplomat-wannabes that made up most of the Council of Konoha.

"Can you please speak one at a time," he addressed them quietly. Somehow they still heard him and turned their heads to him. But it never occurred to them to tone down the racket. Quite the contrary, now they seemed to have their leader's attention, they tried to present their respective opinions at the same moment. Naturally, none of them could be heard clearly enough to understand. Not that Sarutobi needed to hear their words to know what it was about. The tone of their speech had been enough of a giveaway.

"Silence," he snapped at them. "Can you not behave like dignified officials?" The rebuke made them to back off slightly, but they were quickly gathering courage for another attack.

"As I was saying, Hokage-sama…" began a bolder one.

"I said silence," repeated Sarutobi in a more forceful tone. "No matter how upset you are with the issue at hand, we have to discuss it calmly like civilized people, not shout at each other like a bunch of unruly schoolchildren. Understood?" Nobody spoke, so the Hokage took it as a yes. "Well then. Now if you please, I think Koharu had the word last."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." His old teammate rose to her feet. "Before I had been so rudely interrupted," she shot a pointed glare at the offender, "I was pointing out possible implications of today's incident."

Sarutobi somehow managed to keep the frown from appearing on his wrinkled face. That incident. What Kami did he piss of that it had happened before he could find another successor and bully him into taking the hat? As he kept one ear on Koharu's rant (he couldn't quite call it speech), his thoughts turned to what had occurred just this morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Early morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chilly winds were enthusiastically chasing around dried brown leaves. Autumn had once again come to Konoha and turned the forest hiding the village cheerful shades of yellows and reds. One little boy was sitting on a low branch, enjoying the contrast the bright colors of the leaves made against grey-blue cloudy sky, while trying in vain to forget the cold his frayed white T-shirt was doing an insufficient job of keeping out.

Blue eyes scanned the village below. From his position near the top of the Hokage monument it seemed so small, like it was built entirely of dollhouses, and its inhabitants resembled ants. He loved this view. He couldn't see their eyes from here. And they couldn't see him.

Only a handful of people were out and going about their business, since the sun has just risen. Soon the streets will fill with the usual hustle and bustle of life, but so far only few merchants preparing for the day and shinobi going about their morning training routines could be seen.

"Hey, brat!" Oh, let's not forget the last couple of yesterday's drunkards, who had yet to stumble into their homes.

The boy startled and almost fell off his sitting place, but then quickly flattened himself against the tree trunk. Wide eyes quickly darted left and right from under messy yellow bangs. For a moment he hoped, that the two clearly inebriated men were speaking to someone else, but that hope was immediately squashed, as the pair unsteadily approached him.

He quickly went through his options. There weren't many of them.

Jump down and run? Though his branch was one of the lowest in the tree, it still was high enough for him to injure himself upon landing.

Climb down slowly? It didn't seem possible to make it in time, the men were already too close.

Stay where he was and hope they just came to wish him good morning? That didn't sound too likely. Especially when he took into consideration the expressions on their faces. He had seen such before and he got the chills every time he recalled those occasions.

He took the only remaining option. He started climbing upwards, small hands and feet finding enough purchase on the rough bark, trying desperately to get lost among the still thick leaves.

"Don't run, we just want to play," shouted one of the drunkards. 'Like I believe you,' thought Naruto. He had more than enough experiences with their kind. He didn't even look down, concentrating instead on his escape. "Hey, what are you doing, are you a fox or a squirrel?" He certainly wished he could turn into one.

"Come down, or we'll come for you," added his companion, a bulky man with dirty receding hair. He was treated to exactly the same response.

"Don't you make us angry, or else," threatened the first one, tall and lanky. By that time the boy disappeared among the branches. But then Naruto stepped on a thin branch, shaking it so an old bird's nest fell of and landed between the pair.

"Okay, demon, you asked for it," proclaimed the other one, and started for the trunk. "You shouldn't make fun of your betters." Naruto sped up his frantic ascent. When people started calling him that, it always meant bad news. He didn't exactly know why people insisted on treating him the way they did, but after being called nine-tail brat for about a hundred times he was beginning to get a vague idea. Despite what many people claimed, he wasn't a complete moron. Now if he could just figure out, what exactly had he to do with the fearsome demon, but he had nobody to ask. And the old man with the funny hat refused to answer him, always changing the subject instead.

The bulky man attempted to climb, but the level of alcohol in his bloodstream prevented him from succeeding. He picked himself from the ground, rubbing his sore backside. "Now you've done it, you beast," he snarled. He took a few steps back and then ran towards the tree, slamming into the trunk. The branch Naruto was just reaching for shook and he lost his hold. He tried to grab it again, but he lost his balance and started plummeting towards the ground. He tried to get hold on another one, but only hurt his fingers. The ground was approaching fast and he had no means to stop his fall. He closed his eyes.

He hit something hard. It hurt like he just broke his ribs, but he didn't hear anything snap. 'Just be thankful for small mercies,' he thought before ricocheting of whatever he hit and landing on the ground. He rolled a few times in the grass before coming to a stop. He opened his eyes warily.

"You bastard!" If they were angry before, now they sounded furious. "You hit Menma!" Ah, so that's what almost cracked his ribs. The fat man, who was apparently named Menma, was lying on the ground moaning and clutching his head, while the taller one was slowly making his way towards the downed boy.

Naruto didn't wait for anything, shakily climbed to his legs, all the while biting his lips to prevent himself from crying out in pain, and started off as fast as his wobbly short legs could carry him. He was quite fast for his age, lot of practice tends to have that effect, but unfortunately it wasn't fast enough. Rage seemed to have sobered up his pursuer and he quickly caught up with him.

Naruto felt a hand roughly grab him by his neck and lift him off his feet. He kicked wildly in panic. He felt his heel connect with something soft.

"Oooooh!" The hand holding him let go. He resumed running upon touching the ground. "You'll pay for this," promised his attacker. Naruto just ran.

Just like the last time, he didn't get far. Soon the hands were back grabbing him and this time his captor was wary of his frantically kicking feet.

"So, what are we going to do first, Menma," he asked his companion, who had finally regained his bearings.

"Hmmm," started the fat man thoughtfully rubbing his chin. "I say we hit him on the head, so he knows what is it like, when a stupid little demon runt jumps on yours."

"Don't be stupid," chided the other one. "You'll just knock him out and what would be the fun of this?"

"You're right, Kaji. We definitely cannot have that. So we just have to hit him somewhere else!"

"Now that's what I call an idea," grinned Menma evilly. "So, runt, you heard us. What say you, where should I hit first?" Naruto didn't bother to answer. The man didn't sound interested in his opinion anyway. "No suggestions? Pity. So let's just start…here." Naruto barely registered the last word, because pain just exploded in his already bruised ribs and his breath left him in a silent scream.

"Why so quiet," asked Menma while Naruto was desperately forcing his lungs to start working again. "I think we just have to teach this little bird to sing." He punched Naruto again. A small sigh was all that passed the boys lips.

"Not good enough," commented Kaji. "We'll have to continue the lesson." Two fists at once impacted on Naruto's ribcage. They robbed him of his breath just when he finally found it again.

"It seems this one requires a lot of tutoring."

"Yeah, he is pretty slow." All the while blows rained on their helpless little victim. He stopped struggling after a while, they held him securely. They eventually stopped. By the time Naruto felt like his whole body turned black and blue.

"So, little bird, how about singing now," asked Kaji. Naruto just hung limply in his grip. "Answer," he commanded and grabbed the boy's chin forcing him to face him. Something snapped inside Naruto and he bit into his captor's palm. Hard. His mouth filled with the salty taste of blood as his elongated canines broke Kaji's skin.

"He bit me," said the man like he couldn't believe, what just happened. "That fucking little shit just bit me!" Naruto cringed. He knew that now he was really in for it. He expected another punch, but instead the man just leaned closer to him.

"So the little bird can peck, but singing isn't his forte. I wonder how good he is at flying?" The proclamation was accompanied with such a sinister smile, that it nearly made Naruto's blood freeze. The occasional thrashings he could handle, he always recovered fast, but this went far beyond anything that had happened before.

"Let's try it out then," suggested Menma. They started walking leisurely towards the edge of the cliff.

Naruto was panicking. He began thrashing left and right, ignoring the pain in his abused little body, hands and feet lashing in every direction, but the rough hands held him fast. In front of him the panorama of Konohagakure no Sato was slowly revealing itself. Even now he couldn't help but admire its serene beauty. It occurred to him, that he should be more focused on trying to get away than admiring the landscape, but this was probably going to be the last time ever he could see it.

_No!_ Something inside him woke up. _I won't die here! I just cannot! _He had felt like that before, just never so strongly.

They were already almost at the edge. Just a couple more steps and… He had no idea how, but he found the strength for one last desperate effort.

He wildly swung his body forward and than backward. His feet hit. His captor fell. He took off in a mad dash. Or at least attempted to. Strong finger closing around his ankle prevented him from getting far. He fell flat on his face. He kicked madly and managed to free his feet. Some little corner of his mind that wasn't crazy with fear took notice of the fact, that it was too easy. He scrambled to his feet, but the other one reached him. He just felt the fist aiming at the back of his head, even though he couldn't see it. With a speed he didn't know he possessed he half turned and struck at his attacker. There was a strange squelching sound. Then the fat assailant toppled backwards.

Naruto observed it with a sense of detached amazement. Had he really done this? The pain that had been bothering him so much just a few short moments before had somehow disappeared without him even noticing. He lifted his hand to inspect it. He didn't have much time for introspection. Kaji launched himself at him, screaming incoherently.

Naruto was operating on pure instinct, but it seemed to be somebody else's one. Instead of fleeing, he stood his ground. He punched the approaching man with all his might. He wasn't even surprised, when the attacker flew back. A part of his mind pointed out that there was no way it just happened, but nobody was paying it any attention.

The flying body reached the edge of the cliff. It seemed to have stopped, but then it started slowly sliding down.

"Kaji!" screamed the fat man and quickly reached for his comrade's hand.

Naruto's natural instincts finally took over. He turned around and flew. Behind he could hear the sounds of a man struggling to keep hold on a heavy burden followed by a high scream. He ran faster. He barely could hear the voice calling down all possible curses on his head over the sound of wind rushing past his ears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back in Council chamber~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Now you can surely see, just why is the monster so dangerous, Hokage-sama," finished the wizened councilmember.

"Well excuse me, but I still don't see it," answered Sarutobi evenly. "Uzumaki Naruto was just defending himself."

"But those red eyes…" started the old merchant, but the Hokage cut him off.

"Reported only by the true culprit of the crime. Surely you aren't going to believe anything a criminal makes up to earn himself a lighter sentence or even a pardon."

"You are forgetting the tainted chakra," added a self-righteous voice. "One of my clansmen was just nearby and felt it perfectly clearly."

"Is that so, Fugaku," asked Sarutobi. "When he was so close, why hadn't he heard the cries of a beaten child and intervened?"

"He wasn't that close," the head of the Uchiha clan clarified. "Not until the end."

"If you say so," replied the Hokage.

"What are you implying," asked Fugaku.

"Nothing," answered Sarutobi. "Should I have been implying something?"

"Of course not."

"Shouldn't we return to the matter at hand," suggested Inuzuka Tsume. "Not everybody here has a whole day for this."

"She is right," agreed Akimichi Chouza. "This could have been wrapped up an hour ago."

"Troublesome," muttered Nara Shikaku, but everybody ignored him.

"Yes, let's just finish it," said Satoru, one of the civilian councilmembers, enthusiastically. "So how are you going to punish the brat?"

"As I already said, I…" started Sarutobi, but Satoru cut him off.

"You can't let him get away with it! He killed one of our people!"

"Merely injured," corrected Sarutobi. "Kitahama Kaji survived his fall."

"Does it really count? He's been comatose since they picked him from the Nidaime's head. The medics say he would never fully recover."

"You seem to be forgetting who is the culprit and who the injured party," pointed out the old village leader.

"It doesn't really matter," Fugaku made his opinion known. "What matters is that the boy used Its power. Today it had been only two drunkards, but who would it be tomorrow?" He let his words echo through the chamber.

"Very true," nodded Satoru. "He mustn't be allowed to think he can get away with it."

"That power cannot be left uncontrolled," proclaimed Danzo. "We must…"

"I know your opinion on the matter, Danzo," the Hokage cut his rival off. "My answer hasn't changed." Danzo's single eyes shot him an unfriendly look.

"Still, we can't just let it slide," someone said.

"And what's worse, this might mean the seal isn't sufficiently holding the demon's power back," Homura added his two bits.

"The seal was done by the greatest sealmaster to ever live," Sarutobi reminded them. "Do you doubt the Yondaime's masterpiece?"

"He was in a hurry," Koharu pointed out. "It's all too easy to make mistakes under such kind of pressure."

"Both I and Jiraiya had examined the seal and neither of us found any weaknesses," Sarutobi reassured them.

"But one can never be too sure," Homura said.

"What can we ever be really sure about," the Hokage replied philosophically.

"So we have to make sure he never hurts anyone again," Satoru suggested. Sarutobi suppressed the brief urge to throttle him.

"We'll do no such thing," he stated.

"Than we will be forced to take necessary actions ourselves, since you don't seem to be willing to do what has to be done," Fugaku declared.

"Are you questioning my authority," the Hokage hissed dangerously. The temperature in the room seemed to have dropped several degrees. All the agitated councilors went suddenly very still. Even the Uchiha clan head squirmed uncomfortably under the aged leader's gaze. It took him a moment to gather the courage needed to speak.

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama, I was out of my place. I merely wanted to suggest the right course of action, and got carried away." He didn't sound repentant enough when he said it. "It is just my duty as an advisor to help my leader make the right decision, when he is hesitant."

"That's it, Uchiha-san," Sarutobi spoke icily. "You might give your advice, but you cannot make me accept it, if I don't deem it sound. Understood?" The clan leader nodded submissively, but the fires of defiance in his eyes burned brightly. It had become quite a common occurrence lately. Sarutobi frowned. This wasn't good at all. He'd have to look into it later, now he had a more pressing issue to deal with.

"Troublesome," the Nara clan head sighed. "Before this degenerates into a fight, can I suggest a solution I'm confident everybody will find acceptable?"

"Please speak up, Shikaku," said the Hokage. He was relieved that somebody turned the discussion away from the uncomfortable topic of Fugaku's loyalty and was curious to hear what the tactical genius had come up with.

"As I see it, there are two valid points. First: it was Uzumaki who was attacked and therefore can't be held responsible for merely defending himself. Second: some of the Kyuubi's chakra briefly leaked through the seal. While I have total faith in the Yondaime's work, I understand that not everybody can lay their worries to rest that easily. So I suggest we place Uzumaki with a guardian, who would be able to suppress the demon's power in the unlikely case it started leaking out again."

"That sounds all very nice," commented Satoru, "But where are you going to find one? It's not like people with such power just grow on trees. In fact, there haven't been one since the death of the First Hokage."

"Actually, there is one," corrected Shikaku. He looked at Sarutobi asking for permission to continue. The Hokage nodded slightly. He already caught on what Shikaku was proposing and he liked it, certainly more than any of the other suggestions. "You all know why Orochimaru had to flee the village," started the Nara. Some of the occupants of the room shuddered at the memory. Even after seven years the treason was still a raw wound. "Do you know exactly what experiment did he conduct before being found out?" The few recently instated members shook their heads. They knew the Snake Sannin worked with humans, most of whom have died, but that was the extent of their knowledge. "He tried to recreate the Shodai's Mokuton bloodline. He was successful." A startled gasp could be heard. "Although most of his subjects have died during the procedure, one of them has survived and gained the ability. He is now a shinobi of Konoha with a spotless record, if I'm not mistaken. I suggest we put Uzumaki into his care, he should be able to prevent any future incidents like this from occurring."

For a moment, the room was silent.

"Isn't he too young for this sort of responsibility," asked the Kurama clan head.

"No, he's almost all grown now and mature for his age."

"Would he really be able to keep the beast contained," one of the civilians on the council still wasn't convinced.

"The Shodai was able to keep around many great Bijuu as if they were nothing more than household pets, this young man would have no problem suppressing a little of overflowing chakra." The Professor's confident tone seemed to have done the job. There was some more discontent muttering, but eventually everybody agreed, that this was indeed the best solution.

"It is decided then," declared Sarutobi. "Uzumaki Naruto will be placed into the care of Tenzo."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ANBU headquarters~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the same time the Council was discussing a young boy's fate, a young man had just closed the door of his temporary room quietly, removed his cat-faced mask, kicked of his sandals and plopped himself on the bed. He didn't have the energy to undress or even go to his regular apartment. He just wanted to rest, but despite closing his eyes even sooner than his head hit the pillow, sleep eluded him. Instead his thoughts took him back to the latest mission.

He had no idea where exactly did it go wrong. The moment he first noticed something wasn't as planned things were already in hell. They were surrounded and outnumbered and had to make a desperate break for it. There was no thought of trying to complete the mission; it had been an obvious setup. He would bet an S-rank pay that their target was never even there.

In the end only two of them have been able to get away and Tenzo had to carry his companion for the second part of the journey back. He had just dumped his teammate at the hospital and went to give his report to the commander. That man's gaze made him feel like he was personally responsible for the debacle.

Why did he join the ANBU anyway? The pay certainly wasn't worth it. The excitement, perhaps? No, that wasn't it either. Those cool masks? Ah, that was more like it. He loved the anonymity of it. When he donned it, nobody could recognize him. Nobody could look at him with those eyes. Nobody knew that he was a freak.

Just as he was finally about to drift off to sleep, a sharp knock on the door brought him back to wakefulness. "Are you there, Cat?" When Tenzo confirmed, the voice continued. "You are summoned by the Hokage."

Yes, some days Tenzo really had no idea, why he had joined ANBU at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo couldn't believe his ears when he heard what the Hokage wanted him to do. Him taking care of a child? He was the freak, he was never allowed anywhere near children. He was positive he would never get into consideration for prospective jounin-sensei. He came to understand it shortly after he had been rescued from Orochimaru's lab. And now they wanted him to take care of a four-year-old boy, no matter which one? He was good only for undertaking dangerous missions, until one day he didn't come back. The world must be coming to its end. Yet he felt oddly touched.

"Are you sure, Hokage-sama?" He didn't even know anything about childcare.

"Yes," the Third nodded. "It is the best solution."

'I wonder, what the other solutions are,' Tenzo thought but refrained from saying it aloud. He still didn't want to do it. But then… didn't he wonder what he was even doing in ANBU less than an hour earlier? A change of pace would be nice. He was already getting tired of the blood.

"I'll do it then."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later that day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was alone in his apartment. He had lived on his own ever since the orphanage had decided they didn't want anything to do with him and kicked him on the streets last year. He ha spent a week alone, hunting for scraps to eat, before the old man came and gave him this place. It wasn't anything fancy, but at least it had four walls and a roof that didn't leak too much.

He was currently at the sink, rubbing his clothes with soap, trying to remove the stains of blood and grass he had acquired earlier. The public laundry wash in the next street outright refused to serve him, claiming his dirty rags would just contaminate decent people's garments.

He sighed to himself. The laundry owner's attitude was quite common in the village. It made getting anything a challenge, but he was managing.

His musings were cut short by a soft knock on the door. He froze. Visitors were usually bad news. But then – bad news visitors seldom knocked. He jumped down from the stool he had been standing on and went cautiously to the door.

"Are you there, Naruto?" a voice from the other side inquired. The boy's face lit up with a smile.

"Old man!" He opened the door.

"Hello, Naruto," the Hokage smiled.

"Hello," started the boy, but than noted another man standing behind Sarutobi. He eyed the stranger warily.

"May we come in," the old village leader asked.

"Sure," Naruto nodded. The two visitors walked into what he passed as living room. "So, what are you here for," he asked cautiously.

"Say, Naruto, how would you like to live with someone?"

Tenzo watched the boy instantly go on guard. Big blue eyes flickered his direction. He tried to smile reassuringly, but he had no experience dealing with young children. It came out pretty lame. The boy didn't seem reassured at all. Just why did he agree to this? Must have been the sleep deprivation.

"Is it this man," Naruto guessed.

"Yes, Naruto," the Hokage confirmed. "This is Tenzo."

"Hello, pleased to meet you," he attempted a warm greeting.

"Hello," the boy replied halfheartedly. The boy's eyes were still bearing into him with a cautious look. He knew such eyes. He saw them often enough. Usually in the mirror.

It had been hard for him after he was freed from his torment. People kept watching him warily. What was he after whatever the traitor had done to him? Can he be trusted? Won't he just turn on us when we drop our guard? He wanted to reach to the friends he used to have before his ordeal, but they have grown distant. Even they couldn't stand to get close to him anymore. It had hurt. In a way, it hurt even more than Orochimaru's procedures. And the pain never quite went away. For a while, he tried to connect with a fellow survivor of the Snake Sannin's treachery, but it didn't work. She was just too different from him. So he had been mostly alone ever since.

Yet now, when he looked into the little boy's eyes, he felt like he just found a kindred spirit. So maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

For Naruto's part, he didn't trust the stranger he was told would become his new guardian. When he had lived in the orphanage, many people came through and took out other kids becoming their guardians or even legal parents. But they never even considered him. Only one did. Naruto tried not to thing about that time. He was actually happy to land back in the orphanage two months later. So he wasn't thrilled to go with this stranger.

But than Tenzo smiled and it had been a real, kind smile. Naruto rarely saw such aimed his way. He smiled back. He dared to hope that things were actually starting to look up.

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End of chapter one. I hope it wasn't lame.

Next time: Naruto is settling with Tenzo and growing up.


	2. Growing up

**A.N.:** Here comes the second chapter. Since it's prewritten, there's no reason to postpone it. Read and enjoy.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I believe I already said so.**

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As soon as Tenzo finished his mission report, he headed home. He found it hard to combine his ANBU career with raising a kid, but he wasn't complaining. It took some time for them to adjust to the sudden change of their lifestyles, but it was worth it. He now couldn't even imagine coming back to an empty apartment.

Speaking of which, there was nobody inside now. He quickly checked the rooms and found Naruto's training pouch missing. He calmed down, changed from the Black Ops uniform into a customary jounin garb and headed to the nearest training ground. Sure enough, there was his charge hurling practice shuriken at a wooden post.

"Your grip is a bit off," he commented after observing the boy's efforts for a while. Naruto whirled towards him. A huge grin spread on his face.

"Tenzo-san! You're back!" he exclaimed happily.

"Was there any doubt," he asked with a smile. Naruto's face was answer enough. Despite his young age, the boy possessed a surprisingly good grasp of the perils of a ninja's profession. It brought home the reality of just what his life had been before they met. Tenzo certainly hadn't been like that at his age. He quickly showed the thoughts aside, before they could sour his mood.

"You have to hold it like this," he said and demonstrated Naruto the correct way. The little blond immediately adjusted his grip. "Still not quite," commented Tenzo and pointed out the mistake. "Now that's better. Throw it." The child did so. The projectile embedded itself near the centre of the target. "You see the difference?"

It was a better hit than the previous attempts. And they weren't bad either, especially considering how recently he had started practicing. There was some serious potential there.

He let Naruto exercise some more, until he was satisfied with his progress. "Enough of this for now," he declared. The boy looked at him dejectedly. "Let's do some taijutsu practice instead." Blue eyes immediately lit up. Their owner enthusiastically slipped into a basic stance. Tenzo grinned and crouched down to engage him. They haven't studied anything fancy yet, just the basic stances, blocks and dodges. The boy had caught to it like fish to water. The young ANBU had been surprised how quick his reflexes were. He doubted many kids his age could boast better ones.

The boy was still too young to be admitted in the Academy, but Tenzo considered sending him there anyway. He had both determination and stamina in spades and he had no doubt that Naruto would do well. And making some friends close to his age wouldn't hurt as well. But there were also other things to consider. His mood darkened, when he remembered what had occurred just a day after he took the little foxy boy in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A month earlier~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was easy for them to decide where they would be living from now on. Tenzo's apartment was bigger and had no leaks. When it had come to packing Naruto's possessions, he was horrified. Most of his clothes were either too big or too small and even the rest weren't fit to be worn by a four year old boy.

"We're going shopping tomorrow," he decided. His young charge looked at him in askance.

"But I have no money," he pointed out.

"That doesn't matter since I do," the man replied.

"I don't want to be a bother. You could use the money better."

"Nonsense," Tenzo dismissed his worry. "There is nothing better to spend money on than making little kids happy. Besides I'm receiving pay to make sure I can take proper care of you."

"Really?" Naruto asked dubiously.

"Really," Tenzo confirmed. It was the truth. Because taking care of a child required him to take less missions in ANBU, he had been given a financial compensation.

The next day they set out to the business district. Tenzo was walking in the front, Naruto keeping at his heels. They were both doing their best to ignore the cold stares the people were shooting them. Tenzo noticed that they were a lot colder than usual.

They entered a clothes shop. The shopkeeper greeted them with a professional smile plastered on his face, but it had quickly morphed into a scowl, when he noticed Naruto.

"What is He doing in here?" The child hid behind his guardian's legs and tried to become invisible.

"He came to buy some clothes, obviously. This is a clothes shop, isn't it," Tenzo asked while looking over the numerous outfits displayed around.

"How dare you just bring him here," the owner hissed.

"And just why shouldn't I," Tenzo replied evenly.

"Because… you know!"

"Well excuse me, but I don't. Would you please care to enlighten me," he asked too sweetly.

"Because he…" The shopkeeper bit his tongue before he could blurt oust something unwise. He hesitated for a moment before deciding on an acceptable answer that won't land him in trouble. "Because of what he did yesterday."

"And just what would be that?" the Mokuton user raised an eyebrow. "I am unaware of any misconduct on his part."

"He threw a man of the Hokage monument! Just how is that nothing!" The merchant exploded.

"He was merely defending himself from an unprovoked assault," Tenzo corrected him.

"He started throwing stones first!" the shopkeeper insisted.

"You must be misinformed. The report I have read of that incident doesn't speak of such thing." By this time, the man was sweating under Tenzo's gaze.

"Stupid report then," the guy barked.

"Or stupid people. This man's mental capacities are clearly lacking," he said turning to the boy, who was still cowering behind his legs. "We are going, Naruto. After I had a good look at the shopkeeper, I don't even want to know what his merchandise is like." And with those words they left the establishment.

"That didn't go too well," he remarked once they were back on the street. Naruto remained silent. "Let's go elsewhere."

But their luck didn't turn for the better. They had yet to encounter a clerk who wouldn't glare at them. They didn't quite dare to throw them out, but they tried to overprice them or sell them inferior goods. But they managed to get most of what they needed. Only shoes remained uncrossed on their shopping list.

They wandered into the proper store. The saleswoman barely noticed them, being too busy chatting with a customer. Not that they minded. They were glad they could try on the footwear without being disturbed.

As Tenzo carried Naruto's selection of shoes to the counter, he paused when he heard the conversation between the clerk and the customer. He strained his ears and listened in.

"Poor little Akise was so distraught he couldn't hit a single target. It was a wonder he was even able to come to the Academy after what the monster did to his father. I rather gave him the day off to visit him at the hospital."

"Yes, dear," the shopkeeper nodded empathically. "It is terrible that the monster is allowed to roam free."

"And what's more," the Academy instructor continued, "I heard that they let him get away with it. I swear if that demon ever tries to attend the Academy I am going to make sure he never finishes." She said it in such a forceful tone that it left little doubt just what was she going to do to accomplish it.

"Quite right," the saleswoman encouraged. "If he can cause that much damage now, who can tell what he would be able to do if he ever gets training."

"You're not the only one who feels that way," the teacher agreed.

Tenzo had enough listening. He laid his purchase on the counter and paid. Then he grabbed the distraught boy and dragged him out of the shop. The clerk and the instructor had resumed their chitchat. They never noticed just who had been there.

The pair walked home in silence. Only after the doors of their apartment closed behind them did Naruto speak.

"They are going to hurt me," he stated in a small voice.

"No, they aren't," Tenzo reassured him. "I won't allow it."

"You can't be with me all the time," Naruto pointed out. "Not at the Academy."

"So you want to be a ninja?" The ANBU wasn't surprised.

"Yes," the boy confirmed. "The best ninja ever."

"My, my, aren't we ambitious," Tenzo smiled despite himself at the sight of the child's serene face.

"But I can't do that if I can't finish the Academy," Naruto's face fell.

"Don't worry about it now," his guardian consoled him. "You still have a couple of years before you'll start."

"Do I really have to wait so long?" inquired the blond.

"I'm afraid so," the older man replied. "Why are you in such a rush anyway?"

"So I'll get strong soon and the angry men couldn't beat me anymore," the kid explained.

"I suppose you have a point there," the adult agreed. "Okay then, I'll start teaching you tomorrow."

"Yay!" Naruto punched the air. "Why not today?"

'Why, indeed,' Tenzo asked himself. "You know what, let's get you dressed and we'll head to the training grounds."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back at the Training grounds~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo hadn't thought it would accomplish much, but he had shown his student the barest basics anyway. And had been amazed at how quickly he had taken to them. Ever since that day they would come to the training grounds and work on Naruto's skills. And when he decided that his charge had enough, since the boy seemed utterly incapable of telling it himself, they went home and worked on Naruto's academic knowledge. Those lessons were received with much less enthusiasm than the practical ones, but he had been somehow able to partially convince Naruto of their importance nevertheless. Mainly when he pointed out that he couldn't be a ninja if he couldn't read his mission assignment.

"Okay, Naruto, that's enough for today," he decided.

"So soon," the boy protested. "We barely started."

"We've been at it for an hour," the man pointed out.

"That's nothing," the blond claimed.

"You have been here on your own for who knows how long and I have just returned from a mission. I think it's safe to say that we both need our rests." The guardian didn't relent.

"The big strong tough guy outlasted by a kid, who would have thought," a female voice interrupted. He slowly turned towards its source.

"And why did you decide to grace us with your presence today, Anko?"

There was a dark haired woman dressed in a tan trench coat standing on a tree trunk perpendicularly to the ground. Naruto was staring at her perplexed.

"I came here to train," the newcomer answered. "Last time I checked it was still a public training ground."

"What is the lady doing," Naruto asked perplexed.

"Trying to make a conversation, what does it look like, squirt," Anko replied with a strange smile. The child scowled. It was cute. Then she turned to Tenzo. "So, I've heard you've gotten yourself a runt, is that him?" The man nodded. She jumped off the tree with a somersault and landed in front of the startled boy. She crouched down and looked into his eyes. Naruto tried to look undaunted, but failed. At least he resisted the urge to make a step back.

"So what do we have here," the woman started. He could now see that she was very young, still more a girl rather then an adult. He also noted that she was wearing something that barely passed as clothes underneath her coat. When she noticed where his eyes roamed, she laughed mischievously. "Do you like them?"

"W-what?" Naruto stammered.

"Lost your speech? I'm glad I haven't lost my touch," she teased.

"Did you come here to corrupt innocent young minds, Anko," Tenzo chided her.

She smirked. "You know me."

"Yes, I do," he sighed exasperatedly. "Why did I ever ask? If that's all, we'll be going."

"Why do you think it's all?" she grinned.

"We're going anyway," declared Tenzo, lifted Naruto on his shoulders and turned to leave. "You can now train in peace." He didn't wait for her answer and quickly took off.

"Who was that lady?" Naruto asked.

"She's an old acquaintance," his guardian answered.

"What was she doing?" his charge inquired.

"She was messing with your mind," the ANBU explained. "She is quite good at that."

"That's not what I meant. How was she standing on the tree?" the boy clarified.

"It's called Tree walking. It's one of the basic skills of ninja," Tenzo replied.

"When will you teach me?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"You still have time. You haven't starting drawing on your chakra yet."

"And how can I do that?" The curious child refused to drop the matter.

"I'll show you later," the adult tried to brush it off.

"But I want to know now." Tenzo sighed in exasperation. Four year old boys sure were bothersome. Why did he ever think this was a good idea?

"You're acting like a spoiled brat," he rebuked Naruto. "Have patience, I'll show you everything in good time."

That silenced Naruto for a while. But Tenzo had no doubt that he would have to teach the little brat about chakra soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A month later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Enough for today," Tenzo decided.

"Already?" Naruto asked dejectedly. They had been practicing drawing on one's chakra and the older man was amazed at how much Naruto had. Perhaps he shouldn't be, all things considered. The blond's stamina had to be supported by something. Even though he was dripping with sweat, he still refused to admit that he had enough.

"Yes. Look at the time. We should go get dinner." That made the boy smile a bit. Food was something Naruto never turned down. He had to somehow reclaim all the energy he burned off during the daily trainings. He could wolf down anything that was put in front of him on a platter. It never ceased to amaze the young ANBU how such a huge mound of rations can fit into such a small body. He just chalked it up as another one of the many peculiarities his little ball of sunshine had.

They didn't have a favorite place to eat so they usually just wandered through the town and looked for a place that didn't refuse to serve demons. They were strolling down a street when the most appetizing scent caught Naruto's nose. He sniffed the air like a dog or fox. He looked around to determine where it had come from.

He didn't have to search long. His senses soon pointed to a stall just a hundred steps ahead. He immediately made a beeline for it. Tenzo actually had to quicken his pace to keep up.

The foxy boy climbed on one of the high stools next to the counter, his caretaker took place beside him and discreetly scanned their surroundings. There was only one other person in the establishment, but he didn't spare them a single look. Good. It seemed like they could eat here in peace.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's ramen," greeted them the middle aged chef. "What will you be having?"

Naruto was studying the menu, but he wasn't having much success. His reading lessons were coming along well, but there were still too many words he didn't understand. He scrunched his forehead in concentration. He debated with himself, whether he should just point a random food and hope it was edible, but then decided against it.

"Whatever smells so good," he ordered.

"All our cooking smells good," the stall owner replied with a smile.

"You'll have to pick one," added a young girl behind the counter, obviously the elder man's daughter.

"This one, then," Naruto pointed at a random selection. The chef disappeared in the kitchenette. Soon after he reappeared with a steaming bowl in his hands. "Here you are, mister." Naruto picked up his chopsticks and dug in.

He entered nirvana. The taste was so good, caressing his taste buds like heavenly ambrosia. This was sure the food of gods!

Suddenly the bowl was empty. Naruto glared at it in dismay. "Can I have more?" he asked.

"Of course," the chef answered with a chuckle. "Right here."

Everybody was amazed at how much the small child was able to put away. Tenzo realized that he'll probably have to reassess his food budget. Feeding Naruto proved to be quite costly. But seeing the happiness shining in the little blond's face he couldn't find it in himself to deny him. It seemed like they just found their restaurant of choice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Another month later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto and Tenzo were going through one of their first spars. I wasn't much of a fight yet, but the boy was enjoying himself immensely. Even Tenzo was sporting a smile on his face.

They were interrupted by an amused chuckle. They turned to the person which had been observing them from the shade of the trees without them noticing.

"Old man!" "Hokage-sama!" they exclaimed at the same time.

"Is something the matter," the ANBU asked.

"Not at all," the wizened village leader replied. "I just wanted to see how are you doing."

"Great," Naruto answered happily. "Tenzo is teaching me wonderful things. Do you want to see?"

"Not now. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright," Sarutobi said.

"It is," the boy assured him. "Thanks for letting me live with Tenzo. You're the greatest!" The elderly man chuckled at the child's praise. "I want to be just like you when I grow up."

"Really," the elderly man smiled. "That's nice."

"Yes, old man. I'll be Hokage like you, just you watch," Naruto declared.

"Aren't you aiming high," Sarutobi commented. "That is no small feat."

"But I'll make it. Believe it," Naruto stated with unwavering determination.

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama, where are my manners," Tenzo said and made a bench grow from the ground. Naruto stared open mouthed. He had never seen his guardian use his special power before.

"Thank you very much. But I'm afraid I have to decline your invitation. I still have some appointments today. I have to leave now." He disappeared in a Shunshin.

"Wow," the boy exclaimed admiring Tenzo's creation. "Can you make other things grow? Can you grow a house?"

The Mokuton user smiled at his young charge's excitement. "Why, yes."

"Than why don't you live in one?" the blond wondered.

"And just where would I put it?" Tenzo threw his arms around in a dramatic gesture.

"Right here," the boy answered like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," the grown man shook his head. "It is a public training ground."

"And somewhere else?" the young demon vessel tried.

"Like where?" His caretaker raised an eyebrow.

"Anywhere? And what about something smaller than a house? Like a tree house?" The puppy eyes were irresistible.

"Okay," the man agreed. "I'll make you a tree-house."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Five years old~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Bunshin no jutsu…ah!" Naruto was getting frustrated. No matter how hard he tried, the clone wouldn't form right. He got down the Henge in no time, discovering he could make the change physical instead of mere illusion, and Kawarimi after a bit of struggle, but not this. Tenzo originally blamed it on bad chakra control and taught him tree-walking to remedy it, but it was of little help. He now knew the leaf-floating, water-walking and point-balancing exercises and was pretty sure he was the only one in his age group who could boast such ability, but the basic Clone jutsu still eluded him for reasons unknown.

He kicked the pale sickly apparition sprawled on the ground, causing it to dispel. "What am I doing wrong?" If he were the type to pull out his hair in frustration, he would have been already bald.

"Maybe it's just not your type of technique," a silky voice suggested.

"Anko," he turned around startled. The kunoichi jumped down from a tree. She took on a habit of appearing occasionally during their trainings, offering a witty comment or two. Tenzo was always exasperated by her visits, but Naruto came to enjoy them. She was fun.

"Every shinobi have a technique they just can't get right no matter what they do," the woman continued.

"Are you saying I should just give up?" Naruto asked offended. "I'll do it, believe it."

"I'm not saying that, just that maybe you should try something a bit different instead," the snake summoner clarified.

"Like what?" the boy was intrigued.

"I'll show you, but you must promise me you won't tell a soul who showed it to you." The mischievous expression on her face would send grown men running, but not Naruto. He was hooked on her words.

"Why?" he asked a bit puzzled, a bit excited. "Is it forbidden?"

"No, merely restricted," she explained. "It has a high chakra cost, but that shouldn't be a problem to you."

"Okay, I'm game. Bring it on." The child agreed eagerly.

"You asked for it, brat," the kunoichi smiled. "Here comes the Shadow Clone jutsu."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Six years old~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was one of their rare days off. Tenzo convinced Naruto to forgo training for today and instead they were spending their time wandering through the park, enjoying the sunshine, eating ice-cream and ignoring the stares of the villagers. They had a lot of practice with it.

"You," an angry voice sounded. They paid it no heed. "I'm talking to you, dammit. Pay attention!"

They didn't acknowledge him until he stood in front of them effectively blocking their way. They tried to bypass him, but he stubbornly refused to let them. The sight of a ten or maybe eleven years old kid trying to bully a grown-up shinobi was comical. A group of his friends was observing the scene with curiosity.

"Do you want something?" Tenzo asked calmly.

"Yes. How does he dare to show his face in public," he ranted self-righteously. "He should rot it jail for what he did to my father."

"Should I know you?" Naruto inquired.

"No, but you know him," the as of yet unknown boy pointed to his right. Naruto followed his finger and his eyes landed on a man in a wheelchair. His breath caught in his throat. He recognized the hateful face. He shrunk back, hiding behind Tenzo's legs. He hadn't acted like that in over a year, but his guardian couldn't fault him. He recognized the person as well.

"Kitahama Kaji," he stated.

"So you are minding the brat now," the crippled man said.

"So I am," the shinobi confirmed.

Kaji looked like he wanted to say something, but the ANBU's face and too many onlookers made him rethink it. "Go away," he growled. "Just go away."

"We'll go," Tenzo decided. "Come, Naruto." They turned around to leave.

"Don't you just walk away," Kaji's son shouted.

"Quiet, Akise," his father chastised him.

"Hey!" the boy yelled.

Some instinct warned Naruto about the danger, but he was too slow to move. Tenzo was already moving, but he misjudged the situation. The kunai struck Naruto in the back. He fell forward.

Akise stared like he couldn't quite comprehend what he just did. He wasn't the only one. A stunned silence reigned over the park until Tenzo called for Military police to arrest the culprit. Then he knelt down by the wounded boy.

Naruto was in pain. He had been injured before, but never stabbed so deep. He felt the blood pouring from his wound. He also felt a familiar heat spreading through his body. A barely perceptible whisper sounded in his mind. He couldn't understand the words, but he knew what it wanted him to do. He lifted himself to his knees and pulled out the weapon. Blood flowed freely for a moment, then stopped.

"Naruto!" his guardian shouted in alarm. He ignored him. He started toward the attacker, who by now was trembling in fear.

Then trees suddenly burst from the ground, stopping him, binding him. The burning from his veins disappeared. The wound on his back made itself know via an attack of pain. He blinked in surprise. What had just happened?

Then strong arms wrapped around him. The trees released him.

"Let's go," his caretaker said. He just nodded. He was too tired to do anything else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The evening~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarutobi knocked at Tenzo's door. His head was still pounding from the shouting match he had to sit through in today's Council session. The bunch of reprobates had heard about the incident in the park almost as soon as it had happened and naturally demanded something had to be done about the demon. Even when he pointed out that Naruto hadn't actually done anything, they were unrelenting. He sighed. He really wasn't looking forward to announcing to the poor boy what they made him agree to.

The door opened and he stepped in.

"How do you feel," he asked after the greetings.

"Well," the young demon vessel answered. "It doesn't even hurt anymore."

"I'm glad to hear it," the Hokage smiled.

"But that isn't what you came for," the boy guessed.

"You are right. Am I that obvious?" Naruto didn't deign it with an answer.

"It's something bad, isn't it," the blond stated.

"Right on target again," the village leader confirmed. "They banned you from entering the Academy."

"What?" Naruto looked at him with a dejected look in his wide blue eyes. "They can stop me from becoming a ninja?"

"No, they can't do that," Sarutobi shook his head. "They merely won't allow you to study at the Academy. You can still become a shinobi if you pass the test."

"So I just have to study with Tenzo?" the boy asked with hope.

"Yes," the old man confirmed. "That's it."

"That's great," Naruto smiled relieved. "I can still take your hat."

"Train hard and we'll see," Sarutobi smiled back.

"Old man, I have to ask you something," the youth changed the topic, his voice suddenly solemn.

"What is it?" The Hokage went on guard.

"What happened today?" That was just the question he feared.

"What do you mean, Naruto? You were there." He tried to dodge it, but no such luck.

"Don't try to change the matter again, Old man," the boy said angrily. "It won't work on me anymore. I just have to know what was that heat, why did my wound heal so quickly and what did Tenzo do. And don't tell me I'm not ready to know. I already have a theory about it and the truth cannot possibly be much worse. So please come clean and tell me about the Kyuubi."

The Hokage was shocked, although perhaps he shouldn't be. Naruto was quite clever, after all. At least when no books were involved. "Very well then. Sit down, it is a long story."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Seven years old~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto stood in the middle of the training field, a wooden stick in his hands and waved it around in a complicated dance. A group of Shadow clones was mirroring his movements. When his guardian had first found out about them, he had been furious at Anko, but he had to admit their usefulness. That naturally didn't mean he forgave the crazy kunoichi.

"What are you doing?" Tenzo asked.

"Practicing my kenjutsu," the boy answered. He was fascinated with the art of the sword ever since he saw Tenzo in a sparring match against an ANBU woman.

"But you never trained it before," the older man pointed out.

"Then I should better start, shouldn't I," the ninja wannabe stated simply.

"You don't have a sword," his sensei reminded him.

"Then I'll have to get one," the boy had a simple solution.

"You mean it, don't you," Tenzo smiled. Naruto nodded.

"Very well. I'll show you the correct way," Tenzo agreed. "And if you are any good, I'll see about getting you a sword."

* * *

Next time: A team is forming


	3. A team is born

**A.N.:** Here comes the third chapter. Now the fun can start.

**A.N.2: **Now reposted with less grammar errors.

**Disclaimer: Nothing changed since yesterday, I still don't own Naruto.**

* * *

A chop, a jab, a block, a step back then two to the right, spin, charge, retreat an then attack again. Hear the air swish as the blade cuts through it. Jump high, land in a crouch and stab backwards at an imaginary opponent. She finished the kata and sheathed her sword. She smiled. Everything was perfect. She went through the whole exercise without the smallest twitch, with no sign of hesitation and only the slightest hint of the obnoxious pain. Finally, after all the time, her injuries were fully healed.

She still shuddered when she remembered them. She could even now feel the phantom pain of a kunai sliding across her ribs, her attempt to block the strike, then the punch that had shattered her arm. The hit to her head she didn't feel until after she woke up in the hospital two days later. The medics hadn't been sure she would be ever able to resume her shinobi career.

She recalled the time of despair, worsened even when she had heard the results of the Exams. Oh, how she had been proud to make it to the finals. Now she just wanted to kick herself for the stupidity. She hadn't been ready. She might have done well on the first test, but the second one she had passed only thanks to her teammates. In the third part she had lost her first match almost as soon as it begun. She had to realize with shame that she was out of her depth.

And to add insult to injury, both of her teammates had advanced in rank. She didn't. It took some painful introspection, but she realized she hadn't been taking her training seriously enough. She had always prided herself on not being a useless fangirl like so many young kunoichi, but it turned out that wasn't enough. Well, no more. She would now put everything she's got into her training. She'd train and train and then train some more until she'd become the best and even then she wouldn't stop training.

Now only the matter of her team weighted on her mind. Since her teammates had both made chuunin and her recovery had been uncertain, they took off on their different carriers and her squad had been officially disbanded. So now she was a wee little genin without a team and she wouldn't be able to go on missions and enter the Chuunin exams again until she got onto a new one. She'll have to be good so the senseis would fight over her, otherwise she'll stay in the reserves forever.

With that resolve she resumed her training.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Elsewhere~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The young girl was running through the forest at top speed, her three grey dogs, still puppies, at her heels. She strained both her nose and ears to discern what was happening ahead.

This was supposed to be an easy bodyguard mission, but it had suddenly become apparent that it exceeded the parameters of a C-rank.

It had started innocently enough. They were escorting the rich businessman's daughter and her two servants on a trip to visit her aunt in Port city. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the flowers were blooming and the only inconvenience they had encountered so far was the cloud of dust behind the ox-driven cart carrying their client's possessions. A mission as easy as pie, one would say. But their sensei insisted on taking it seriously anyway.

That's why she found herself as the forward scout. It was a logical choice, because she and her canines were able to smell trouble from miles ahead. And they haven't noticed a thing out of the ordinary. That's why they were so startled when they heard a scream from behind.

She turned on her heels and took the air into her nose. Nothing. The wind wasn't blowing today. She channeled chakra to her ears. She picked a crack of broken wood followed by ringing of steel meeting steel. Definitely a battle. She took to the treetops and sped towards their small entourage.

The battle seemed to have reached a peak and was slowly dying down. She pumped even more chakra into her legs and willed herself to go faster. Soon she arrived at the scene. While she had been scouting ahead, they had been attacked from behind.

She saw her sensei defending against two opponents. He was already sporting a gash on his cheek and his left thigh was leaking red. She didn't stop to think, her instincts took over. She jumped from the tree with a battle cry and lunged at the closest opponent. He dodged. She landed on all fours. For a moment, her back was exposed to him. He tried to stab her, but a gray blur jumped him. He barely avoided the snapping jaws. But then a mouth full of sharp teeth closed around his calf. He looked down in surprise. He hadn't realized that there might be more than one dog. That hesitation cost him dearly. The third canine hit his hip and took out a bit of skin. The man screamed.

By the time the girl was back on her feet and joined the fray. A quick application of her clan's secret jutsu gave her feral qualities. With her nails turned into claws she swiped at the man.

She now had a better view of him. He was wearing standard shinobi clothes, dark jumpsuit with a flack jacket of a design she couldn't immediately recognize. He was wearing a hitai-ate on his forehead, but his dirty hair obscured the symbol.

He blocked her attack with ease. "So the little girl came to play," he sneered. "More fun for me." He kicked away the dog biting into his leg. She saw that momentary loss of balance and attacked. He managed to avoid her blow, but one of her dogs got hold of his side. Unfortunately his teeth couldn't penetrate the armored vest. The man batted him away with a fist. "Pathetic," he commented. "Is that all you got?"

She scowled. Of course that wasn't all. It was time to take out the big guns. She reached into her pouch and took out three tiny orbs. "Take that, boys," she shouted throwing the soldier pills to her canine partners. They caught them from the air and promptly swallowed. Their fur stood on its end and darkened. They seemed to grow bigger. "I'll show you just what I've got," hissed the kunoichi.

"Gatsuuga!" She jumped in the air and started spinning, her companions following suit. Soon four small tornado-like projectiles were flying at the attacker from different directions. His eyes widened in surprise, but he was too experienced ninja to be caught off guard that easily. He frantically dodged, but the attacks changed their direction and still followed him. But he was fast. He saw an opening between them and took it. He was able to avoid most of the attack, but one still glanced his thigh. He grimaced in pain when his leg had trouble supporting him.

"You'll pay for this, little shit," he promised. The girl paid him no mind. She and her dogs were readying themselves for another charge.

The man's face suddenly registered surprise and then he toppled forward, revealing the form of the girl's sensei with a bloodied kunai in his hand. "That was reckless, Hana," he chided. The young kunoichi now registered the form of the other attacker lying still on the ground, his throat slit.

"I know, sensei," she admitted. She then looked around. "Where is everyone?" Her sensei pointed behind the cart. She quickly took off. And halted after just a few steps. There were lying her teammates, the ground red with their blood. The maid and the cart driver were sprawled beside them. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak, she could barely breathe. Then she registered a small sound. She awoke from her stupor. One of them was still alive!

She knelt down to the wounded boy and quickly examined him. She was no expert, but she had some basic medical knowledge. Her aunt had been tutoring her in the ways of a veterinarian, but she found little interest in it. The paths of warriors or trackers were more alluring to her. But now she swore that she wouldn't try to skip on her lessons ever again.

Because what she was able to discern wasn't comforting at all. The boy's lung had been punctured and an artery was ruptured. He was slowly drowning in his own blood. She quickly ran through her meager arsenal of medical techniques and came up with a blood stopping jutsu. She hadn't fully mastered it yet, but it would have to do. She forced her shaky fingers into the necessary handseals and was relieved when her hand was enveloped in the familiar green glow. She laid her palm on the wound. She prayed it would work.

The bleeding slowly lessened and then stopped. Hana let out a breath and deactivated the jutsu. It seemed her teammate would live for the while.

She registered soft steps behind her. She whirled to face the newcomer, her arms automatically assuming the fighting stance even though her dogs were calm. It was just her sensei. The man was leaning on the cart, his right hand clutching at his bleeding thigh.

"Sensei," she cried out half relieved, half alarmed.

"How are they?" he asked.

"Juubei lives," she answered.

"And Tokita?"

She walked over her other fallen teammate. She ran a quick diagnostic jutsu over him and then hung her head in defeat. Tears spilled from her eyes.

"I'm sorry," her sensei said slowly, "but now isn't time for grieving."

She wiped her eyes and stood up. She didn't know what she should do now. Now the excitement of the battle turned down, the reality of what had happened dawned on her.

"We cannot linger here," sensei pointed out. "The last one may return anytime when his comrades won't catch up to him."

"Another one?" she asked alarmed.

"Yes, the one who took away our client and took down Juubei and Tokita."

"What are we going to do?" she asked, suddenly feeling very young and helpless. A part of her mind told her to go after the last enemy to complete their mission and avenge her friends, but another didn't want to leave them. And yet another one told her that it didn't matter anyway, since she couldn't defeat the enemy and would wind up dead no matter what she would do.

"We'll have to salvage what we can," the jounin decided. "I'm currently in no shape to fight and you are no match for such an opponent. Is Juubei stable now?"

"I think so, I did what I could."

"Good. Then patch me up the best you can. We must be prepared when the last one shows up."

"Yes, sensei." She started to work.

"Who were they?" she inquired after a while.

"According to their scratched headbands they were nukenin. But they didn't seem like your typical bunch. Their gear was in too good shape. They might have been just pretending so they wouldn't implicate their village."

"So there might be others?" she asked fearfully.

"I hope not. Otherwise we're dead."

"It's finished, sensei," Hana said. "Can you stand on your own?" The man tried it.

"Yes, thank you. This'll do." He limped towards his other surviving student. "How bad off is he?"

She ran a diagnosis and grimaced. "Very bad. I managed to stop his bleeding, but his lung is still collapsed. I'm afraid it would take a much better medic than me to heal him. I don't think he'll survive long enough to get him back to Konoha."

"We'll have to try anyway. Let's get him on the cart. We'll be riding home. The only good thing about this situation is that we still have the oxen."

They carefully lifted the wounded boy. He let out a pained cry that quickly turned into a gurgle. Hana winced. They laid him into the cart. She made sure his wound hadn't opened. At least something went well today.

"What about the others?" she asked.

"The cart is big enough. We can take them to Konoha to their families." They loaded the bodies. Sensei than took the reins and turned the cart around. They began their journey back to Konoha.

She was exhausted after the battle and healing, but she didn't allow herself to rest. She kept looking over her shoulder, expecting an attack anytime.

"Calm down, Hana. I don't think we'll be attacked that soon."

"Why?"

"Our client was taken captive, not killed. That means he has to deliver her somewhere. It seems like the mission is more important to him than his comrades."

She shuddered. Something like that was unforgivable in her clan. But she decided to trust the words of her sensei and rest on the cart for a while. Besides there were still her trusty dogs keeping guard on them.

The journey seemed much longer than when they had traveled in the opposite direction. Hana kept watch over Juubei. She fed him a blood replenishing pill, but it only caused his wound to reopen. She managed to close it again, but he probably lost most of the blood he had regained due to the medicine. It was all she could do to restrain herself from pulling out her hair in frustration. The boy's condition was steadily worsening. His skin became ashen, his breathing too fast and shallow. He won't live to see the evening, she was positive of it. And there wasn't a single thing she could do about it. She hated the feeling of helplessness. And Konoha was still too far.

She watched the sun slowly descending to the horizon. The shadows were lengthening and she half expected an enemy hiding in every one of them. Sometime during the afternoon Juubei stopped breathing. She wanted to cry for him, but instead she just felt numb. There was panic ebbing at the edges of her mind, but she refused to acknowledge it. She knew that if she allowed herself any stronger emotions, she would just break down.

Evening came and they stopped for the night. Her sensei took the first watch. She lay in her sleeping bag, but sleep eluded her. Instead the events of the previous day kept replaying themselves in front of her eyes.

Then it was suddenly morning. Had she dozed off? They packed up the camp and set on the road. She just stared blankly forward. When they were attacked, she didn't even notice it. It took one of her dogs tackling her to the ground to wake her from her stupor.

She quickly scanned her surroundings. Then dodged as a kunai sailed towards her head. She located where it had come from. She sprung to her feet, her own kunai in hand. Her sensei had already thrown a couple of shuriken into the foliage. Their assailant swiftly moved out of the way. Then a hail of senbon flew from the opposite direction. She barely evaded them. There were two enemies?HHH They were screwed.

One of the attackers came out of the bushes and her sensei engaged him. She scanned the trees for the other one.

She heard a kunai whistling in the air, but it wasn't aimed at her. She looked over her shoulder. Her sensei just barely dodged the thrown blade, but it put too much strain on his injured leg. He stumbled and hissed in pain. His opponent capitalized on it. He stabbed at his chest. Sensei managed to block it, but the knife went right through his forearm. She screamed and rushed to his aid.

The other one attacked before she could reach him. She managed to get into a stance and block his strike, but it felt like her bones were breaking. Her dogs immediately jumped the nukenin and forced him to retreat momentarily. But then he pulled out a katana and they had to back off to avoid being cut to pieces. Hana briefly considered her options and took four pills from her pouch. She threw three of them to her partners and swallowed one herself. She leapt away to avoid a vicious sword strike, then activated her Quadruped technique.

"Let's go, boys," she shouted. "Gatsuuga!" Four furry tornados started after the man. He managed to avoid them entirely. "Again," commanded Hana.

This time her opponent didn't run. He ran through some handseals and slammed his fist to the ground. A wall of earth rose from the ground. The four attacking whirlwinds slammed into it painfully. Small cracks appeared in the barrier, but it held. The foursome fell to the ground.

"How did you like that, stupid pups," the man laughed. Hana's head hurt too much to glare at him. "Wimpy little puppies shouldn't play with big bad wolves." She shook her head to clear it. She lifted herself on her hands and knees. The man kicked her side knocking her back down. One of her dogs charged at him, but he punched his muzzle sending him flying. The others finally got to they paws and started at him. He simply grabbed his katana again and easily held them off. One of her trusted friends now sported a long gash along his backside. It looked bad for them.

She somehow got to her feet before the man attacked again. She blocked his blade with a kunai, but she was pushed back nevertheless. The next strike didn't chop off her head only because one of her dogs tackled him. It earned him a punch that broke his ribs.

"Now I had it," the man snapped. "I'll kill the mutts first and than I take my time with you, girl."

Then he was forced to dodge a hail of kunai.

"What the…" he started. Two figures jumped from the trees, weapons drawn, and charged at him. Two more went after the other missing nin. She recognized their armor and masks. An ANBU patrol. They were saved.

The battle took a swift end after that, the outlaws being no match for a superior number of elite warriors. She watched it with indifferent eyes.

"Are you all right, kunoichi-san," one of the masked men asked. She nodded mechanically. "Can you tell us what happened?" She started retelling the events of the last two days. The ANBU had some more questions and she answered obediently. When they said they would be escorting them to Konoha, she wavered on her feet. The one with bear mask had to support her. The exhaustion finally caught up with her. They had to carry her all the way home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarutobi sighed tiredly when he finished reading the detailed report. It was quite a debacle for a simple C-rank mission, but clients sometimes tended to downplay the amount and wealth of their enemies to save on the mission cost. Rich merchants were the worst. The competition was vicious and they sought to cut their expenses whenever they could. And then they had the gall to play the injured party when disasters like this happened. The elderly Hokage wished he could just have every such idiot assassinated, but then Konoha would soon run out of clients. Usually the only thing he could do when a mission increased in difficulty was to charge higher prices, but self-important cheap-assed morons who got his ninja killed would regret it dearly.

He had already sent a team to find the missing girl and whoever paid that nukenin, if they indeed were such. Nobody got away with killing shinobi of Konoha. Specialists were currently busy with the bodies, trying to discern where did they come from.

He tried to tell himself that it could have been worse. Still, two fresh genin dead and a jounin crippled was a pretty bad outcome, no matter how he looked at it. He forced his thoughts to turn to more positive matters, like what to do with the surviving girl. He picked the files of current genin and started to study them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo fully expected to be sent on a mission when he was suddenly summoned to the Hokage's office, so he took his battle gear. He was therefore surprised when the aged village leader motioned for him to come closer. He looked at his superior in askance, waiting for him to speak.

"Tell me, Tenzo, is Naruto ready for field duty?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Training grounds~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo arrived at the meeting point with time to spare. He used it to reminiscence on the recent events.

When the Hokage had asked him whether Naruto was ready, he had panicked for a moment. What did Sarutobi want with his little boy? But he had to truthfully admit that his young student was now safely on genin level. Then the Professor told him he wanted to put him on a team and make Tenzo their sensei. Saying he was surprised would be an understatement. He had never thought he would be in charge of his own genin squad, but then four years ago he wouldn't have believed he would end up raising a child. Well, life was full of surprises and this one wasn't entirely unwelcome. Though he might want to wait with the final verdict until he met his team in person.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Graveyard~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana stood silently in front of a new tombstone. It had been only three days since she had been released from the hospital and two since her teammates' funeral. Their sensei couldn't attend, he was still bedridden. She had been shocked when she had heard that he would never regain full use of his arm again. She knew it meant the end of his ninja career. She knew she was being illogical, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was partially her fault. If she could detect the enemies sooner, if she were with her team when the attack happened, if she were stronger, if she were a better medic… the list went on and on.

Half of the time she doubted if she was worthy of calling herself kunoichi. She had seriously considered quitting many times for the last week, but she couldn't bring herself to actually do so, although that might have been just her fear of her mother's reaction to such news. Her mother was a strong woman, always knowing what to do, never backing off from a challenge, never taking any crap from anybody. Hana wished she could be more like her. If her mother ever found out just how weak her daughter was, she would be extremely disappointed and let her opinion be known in a forceful manner.

Hana sighed. If she wasn't strong now, it didn't mean she couldn't become stronger. She resolved to devote her life to make it happen. She had thought she would have more time to prepare before she'll have to reenter active duty, but then a message arrived saying she had been placed on a new squad. For a moment she had been tempted to refuse, but then she remembered her earlier resolve. If she wanted to become stronger, she should better begin now. Yet she felt very uncomfortable having to face new teammates so soon after losing her old ones. She had no desire to form new bonds when the wounds from the old ones being torn were still raw. But she couldn't back off now. She'll have to go and smile at strange people while her friends were lying dead in the ground.

She looked up at the sky and noticed the hour. She should better be going. It wouldn't do to be late for her very first team meeting. She turned to leave, her three silent companions following he steps.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Somewhere downtown~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was ecstatic. After all the time she was finally placed on a new squad. She couldn't wait to see who her new teammates were going to be. She hoped they wouldn't be jerks like her old ones, who just went on with their lives and left her behind. They barely remembered to visit her in the hospital while she was still recovering. Not that she hated them, but they never became particularly close.

They were both a bit spoiled kids from major clans, talented and among the best at the Academy, while she was just a simple girl from a no-name family with no particular talent. Her only remarkable skill was in handling her kodachi her cousin had given her. She also taught her how to wield it. The short sword had become her love and pride. She polished it thoroughly, tested the sharpness of the blade and then sheathed it.

She donned her customary ninja gear and set off to the training grounds. She couldn't wait to start a new era of her life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tenzo's home~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto couldn't sleep with excitement the night before. He had been even more hyper than usual ever since he had heard that he might become a real ninja. Sure, he first had to pass the genin test, but he was confident he could do it. Naturally it turned out to be harder than he imagined. He shuddered when he remembered it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ninja Academy, two days earlier~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto had never been at the Academy before and he looked around in amazement. Never mind there wasn't much to see, every hallway, every closed door seemed to hold countless secrets of aspiring shinobi education and he couldn't help but wonder what skills would he have learned, what adventures he would have gone through, what friends and rivals he would have made had he attended here. But his musings were soon cut short, as they arrived at a particular door. Tenzo stopped and knocked.

"Come in," someone called. They entered a room. It was a standard classroom with a blackboard and rows of desks, only students were missing. Behind the teacher's desk was sitting a young man with grayish hair. "Hello," he smiled in greeting. "You must be Uzumaki Naruto. Pleased to meet you. I am Mizuki. I will be proctoring your test today." The teacher's politeness seemed forced, but it was better than what Naruto was used to.

"Pleased to meet you too," he replied.

"Well then. If you are prepared, take a seat and we shall begin the written portion." Written test? Naruto cringed inwardly. No matter how much Tenzo tutored him, book knowledge was never his forte. But he wouldn't back off. Not when his dream was within his reach. He put on a brave façade and sat down. Mizuki handed him a sheet of paper and a pen. "You have an hour to complete it. You may begin now."

Naruto turned the paper over and started reading the first question. It was hard, but he felt like he should know this, unfortunately the answer eluded him. He moved on to the second one. It was slightly easier. He started scribbling down what little he remembered.

The hour passed in a similar fashion. Naruto managed to answer around half of the questions, some of them he knew, others he deduced. And where both failed, he just made something up and hoped some of it might hit close to the mark. He could just pray it would be enough to pass.

"Time's up," announced Mizuki and collected his test sheet. He briefly scanned it and looked vaguely pleased at something. Naruto just wished he knew whether it was at his success or failure. "Now comes thrown weapon accuracy." Naruto perked up. That was something he excelled at, even if he said so himself.

They arrived at the target range. Mizuki handed him a handful of practice kunai.

"Am I supposed to throw these?" Naruto scowled.

"Of course," Mizuki said. "Would you prefer to throw stones instead?"

"Yes," the examinee confirmed. "These are completely blunt and unbalanced. And are they even steel? They look like they'd shatter if I threw them too hard."

"So the standard Academy equipment isn't good enough for you?" Mizuki asked sarcastically. "I'm afraid that's all you'll get here."

"If that's so, I understand why do the jounin-senseis always complain about new graduates," Tenzo stated his opinion. "These are really inferior. Your poor students cannot possibly gain any accuracy working with those."

"Tell that to the Council," Mizuki retorted. "They refused to raise our equipment budget again. I'm afraid those are all we have."

"Then it's good I packed my own," Naruto smiled reaching into his pouch. He then proceeded to throw his kunai and shuriken at the targets. He hit every one of them, only a handful went slightly off center.

Mizuki for a moment looked like he swallowed a lemon, but quickly corrected his facial expression. He wrote down Naruto's scores. "You passed this one," he announced. "Now we proceed to the taijutsu exam."

He had to spar against Mizuki. The man wasn't taking it easy on him, but Naruto was used to worse from Anko. Mizuki had to admit he was good enough to pass.

The last portion was ninjutsu. When he was asked to perform Kawarimi, he switched with Mizuki. The proctor had been startled and angered, but he had to admit it was a successful attempt. When performing Henge he turned into Anko minus her coat. Mizuki was staring for a full minute before Tenzo decided that enough was enough and shook him awake. The teacher had to wipe the blood from his nose before he declared Naruto's attempt passable.

The last obstacle before his becoming genin was the Bunshin no jutsu. He still couldn't do its most basic version properly, but he knew its upgrades. He quickly formed a handseal and silently summoned a couple of Kage Bunshin. They appeared beside him and gave Mizuki a high-five.

"That wasn't the correct handseal sequence," Mizuki pointed out.

"But it gave the correct result," Naruto defended. Mizuki looked like he wanted to disagree, but he couldn't come up with a sound argument.

"You passed," he decided. "Congratulations, Uzumaki, you are now officially a shinobi of Konohagakure. Here is your hitai-ate." He handed him a rectangular piece of metal with the engraved Leaf symbol fastened on a dark blue piece of cloth. Naruto took it reverently and carefully fastened it around his forehead. Then he sprung into a victorious dance.

"Yay, I did it, I did it!"

"Calm down, Naruto," Tenzo chastised him, "you're making a spectacle."

"Who cares? I did it! I did it!" Tenzo sighed. When his young charge got into one of these moods, there were precious few things that could make him stop.

"You'll give ninja of Konoha bad name." That made the boy pause. Before he could come up with a reply, Tenzo pressed his advance. "And if you do so, I won't buy you ramen." It was an underhanded tactics, but it was dependable. Tenzo used it strictly as a last resort, since it presented too much of a strain on his budget. But he felt this situation warranted it.

Naruto forcibly calmed himself. "I'll be good," he promised. They started towards Ichiraku's, Naruto's every step bouncing with barely suppressed excitement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back at Tenzo's apartment~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was brought out of his reverie by the sight of the clock. Was it that late already? He put on his sandals and utility belt, and fastened the belt with his brand new ninjato over his blue and black jacket with orange trimming. Then he started roof hopping towards the training grounds. He wouldn't live it down if he started his ninja career by being late.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Training grounds~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo was awoken from his musings by the sound of approaching footsteps. His students were coming. And it looked like they decided to show up at the same time. He jumped down from the tree. Time to put the show on the road.

* * *

That's it for today. Next time: the genin test.


	4. The genin test

**A.N.:** Thanks to everyone who followed the story so far and double thanks to everyone who bothered to review.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Do I have to spell it?**

* * *

The team gathered under a tree. Tenzo eyed them curiously. His two new charges so far both were and weren't what he expected from reading their profiles. But he won't judge them until he got to know them better.

"So, ladies and gentlemen," he started, "Now that we are all here, we should begin with the introductions. I guess I should go first myself. So for those who don't know me yet, my name is Tenzo and I'm your new sensei. I specialize in ninjutsu and kenjutsu. Now you," he pointed to a slim girl in a short purple kimono. She was trying to keep a solemn demeanor, but her excitement shone through.

"I am Uzuki Hotaru," she began. "I specialize in kenjutsu as well," she pointed to the sword handle visible behind her shoulder. Her deep purple ponytail whipped around her head. "I want to someday become as good as my cousin. I wish I could be such an awesome kunoichi as her."

"Why do you want to be so awesome?" the other girl scoffed derogatorily. She was a muscular brunette clad in black shorts, red form-fitting sleeveless top and beige leather vest with fur on its hems. She also had two long red triangles running down her cheeks and was accompanied by three gray wolfish dogs. She also seemed to be spreading an aura of gloom, which her new teammates valiantly resisted.

Hotaru scowled at her. "You think you're already awesome, clan brat?"

"Enough," Tenzo cut them off before an argument could start. "You're a team now, so act like it. And for those, who don't know what it entails, that means no fighting each other. Understood?" Nobody said a word. "That's good. Now let's get back to the introductions. Why don't you go next," he pointed to the dog girl.

"My name is Inuzuka Hana. I specialize in my clan's techniques and medical jutsu. I want… I just want to be good." Tenzo wondered what it was she wanted to say originally.

"And now the last one," he pointed to his charge.

Naruto nearly jumped with excitement. "I am Uzumaki Naruto. I'm good at ninjutsu and taijutsu too and I want to learn kenjutsu but I'm no good at genjutsu and I want to…"

"Slow down, Squirt," Hana interrupted. "Nobody's interested in your ramblings. Have you even started the Academy yet?"

"What?!" Naruto shouted insulted. "If we weren't banned from fighting, I'd show you just what a ninja I am!"

"Silence, the two of you," Tenzo commanded. "Hana, I know what had happened to you, but please try to be more tolerant. It may be news to you, but you aren't the only one with a bad experience. I know it's still too soon, but you'll have to deal with it, otherwise it will disrupt your progress."

Hana just scowled. Who was he to tell her that? And her new teammates, she just couldn't stand their happy carefree attitudes. They were such children, especially the short boy. It didn't help at all that he reminded her of Juubei a bit. But Juubei was dead, his life leaving him under her hands, and this brat here was very much alive, annoying her with his chipper attitude. She wanted to wring his neck.

"Now the introductions are over, we'll go on to the next order of business, and this is your team's test."

Naruto looked at him startled, Hotaru attentively, Hana just stared at the ground.

"A little more enthusiasm wouldn't hurt," he advised her. She scowled but turned to him. "As the girls present know, every new team is being given a test to see whether they are suited to be ninja or should be sent back to the Academy, in your case to the reserves. Those tests vary from sensei to sensei. I don't know what sort of tests you already passed, but here is mine. Here is a scroll. It contains the information on what you'll have to do to pass. I'm going to hide it somewhere in this training area. You may start searching for it in ten minutes exactly. And remember, from the moment the test starts, you are in hostile territory."

He melted into the nearest tree. The expressions on the girls' faces were hilarious. He didn't linger long. He had a scroll to hide. He took off, all the while wondering how his genin will do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back with the team~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So how are we going to go about this?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not sure I want to give it a go," Hana muttered. Her teammates glared at her.

"Of course, clan princess can afford to fail," Hotaru huffed. "There's no way they wouldn't give her another team." The three dogs growled menacingly.

"Cut it, girls," Naruto snapped. "Have you already forgotten, what Tenzo-sensei said? No fighting. Besides we have the test to worry about. Knowing Tenzo, it isn't going to be easy."

"You know him?" Hotaru asked.

"Yes," Naruto confirmed.

"What can you tell us about him?" Hana seemed to have overcome her funk and went down to business.

"He's very good. I've never saw him in a real battle, but he's strong and fast and he can really use his sword. He has Water, Earth and Wood ninjutsu."

"Wood?" Hana asked surprised. "Wasn't that the Shodai's unique ability?"

"Yes," Naruto confirmed, "But it isn't so unique anymore. I can't really tell you more about this."

"Can't or won't?" Hotaru inquired.

"Shouldn't we get back to business?" Naruto avoided answering. "Tenzo will probably hide the scroll in a tree somewhere, but then it could be underground as well or…well, elsewhere."

"Thanks for the help," the Inuzuka muttered sarcastically.

"I have yet to see you offer some," Naruto retorted.

"That's true," Hotaru added. "Can your dogs sniff out the scroll?"

"Is there any doubt?" Hana took offense. "They are Inuzuka clan ninja dogs. They can smell anything from several miles away."

"That's well, then," the youngest member of the squad grinned. "We'll find the scroll in no time!"

"We, brat? I'll find it," Hana scowled. It was becoming a habit of hers.

"Calm down, both of you," Hotaru interrupted them. "We are supposed to be a team, remember?"

"Yes," Hana scoffed. "The ten minutes are almost up. So how do we start?"

"Let's just split up and divide the area to search," the purple-haired girl suggested. "That way we can search it through faster."

"I don't know," Naruto mused. "Tenzo said we're in hostile territory. We should stick together in case of an attack."

Hana stiffened. Those words brought back memories of the ambush. With them, the doubts and self-accusations returned with a vengeance. If they had just stuck together…

"Hey, Hana, what's up with you?" the boy asked. She woke up from her reverie.

"Nothing," she stated with a glare, daring him to disagree.

"Are you sure?" He did it anyway, with that disturbingly cute concerned look on that childish face of his.

"Yes. And we should get moving. The test starts just about…now." She stood up and gestured to her dogs. They obediently took the front and inhaled the air. The middle one barked. "This way," Hana commanded and took off. The team followed her.

They ran on the ground for a couple hundred steps, then they took to the treetops. Naruto was surprised that Hana's dogs jumped on the branches too.

"You taught them to climb trees?" he asked in amazement. "What next, would you teach them to meow?"

"What did you just say?" Hana barked.

"That you are retraining your dogs to become cats," the shortest genin clarified.

Hana stopped on the spot. "Never, ever insult an Inuzuka's dog," she growled.

"Okay, okay, I apologize," Naruto threw his arms up in a peace gesture. "I was just joking. I didn't mean anything bad."

"You better," the dog mistress advised him, "because it's a stupid joke and I don't appreciate such."

"Look out," Hotaru shouted. It was the only warning they had before a kunai with an already lit exploding tag landed in the middle of their group. They leapt away to avoid the blast. That had been too close for comfort.

The kimono-clad girl unsheathed her blade. Some instinct made her slash behind her. Her sword cut into a wooden figurine with a smiling face and lodged itself in its chest. She tried to pull it out, but it proved to be an impossible task. Then she had to abandon it altogether, because another wooden man came at her from behind. It was fast. She somehow avoided its first strike, but found herself in the path of another blow. She braced herself for the impact. It never came.

A blue and black blur suddenly appeared and slammed into the doll, knocking it off the branch.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked. She nodded. "Where is Hana?"

The Inuzuka and her dogs were currently battling two figurines. They were holding their own, but they couldn't gain any advantage either.

"I'll take the one on the left and you the one on the right," Naruto decided. He didn't wait for her response and charged.

"Hothead," Hotaru muttered. Then she jumped into the fray as well.

Their attack lacked coordination, but their superior numbers prevailed eventually. But they had to admit grudgingly that they could have done much better.

"No more goofing off," Hana decided. "We'll have to take it seriously from now on, which means no jokes, Naruto."

"You just needed cheering up," the blond replied defensively.

"Spare it for later," the kunoichi advised. "Now we have to be alert. This is what we'll do. I'll take the point with my dogs and would search for the scroll and more enemies. You two will be covering my flanks. Hotaru will be on the right and Naruto on the left. Understood?" They both confirmed. "Let's go then."

This time they were going slower. They strained all their senses to detect another ambush in time. But none happened. Suddenly Hana stopped.

"We're close," she whispered.

"Where is it?" Naruto asked.

"That way," she pointed straight ahead, "but I see a wire. There are traps."

"I expected nothing less," the short boy replied. "I wouldn't try disarming them, that usually makes them spring. Bypassing them is a better option, but there's always something hidden. This requires extreme caution."

"No kidding," Hana agreed. "His scent is all over this place. I doubt there even is a safe way in."

"Then we'll just have to make one," Naruto proposed.

"And how would you accomplish that?" Hotaru questioned.

"I'll make clones and send them in," the aspiring shinobi explained his plan. "A lot of them would be destroyed, but eventually one will get through."

"And you can make that much corporeal clones?" Hana doubted.

"Yes," the boy confirmed. "Look." He lifted his hands in a familiar seal and soon the branches around them were obscured in smoke. When it cleared, a hundred little blond ninja appeared.

"Wow," Hotaru whistled.

"Idiot," Hana chastised him. "Who told you to do it now and here? You could have sprung a trap and alerted our enemies." The youth looked ashamed. "What's done is done," the dog user continued. "We'll go with your plan, but try not to trip any traps if you can avoid it."

"Roger," Naruto said. Then he motioned for a clone to begin.

The replica slowly started forward. It made a few steps before stopping to study something on the ground. Then he jumped high. He landed in a crouch and was promptly destroyed by a rising wooden spike. Second clone followed in his footsteps and met the same end. The third tried jumping further. He fell into a pit with spikes on the bottom. Fourth clone found a log somewhere. He threw it on the place where his predecessors faced their demise. Spikes came again from the ground, but there was nobody to hit. The shadow clone ran atop the log and then jumped over the pit. He was surprised when he landed safely. Unfortunately when he made a single step, his foot was caught in a noose and he was hauled upwards. He hung there upside down for a moment before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

It took most of the clones and far more time than they had anticipated, but eventually one of the replicas got his hand on the scroll and threw it to the original before a blast note destroyed him.

"Finally," Naruto rejoiced.

"Let's open it," Hotaru demanded.

"It could be another trap," Hana pointed out.

"You're right," Naruto agreed and handed the suspicious scroll to one of his few remaining clones. It wasn't a trap and the clone opened it without any trouble.

"What does it say?" Hotaru inquired. The clone gave her the scroll before dispelling itself. She quickly read through its contents, Hana looking over her shoulder.

"That doesn't sound hard," she commented. "Just deliver it to the other side of the village."

"But we have a time limit and we're still in enemy territory," the single male of the team reminded them.

"That could be a problem," the purple-haired kunoichi agreed.

"You bet it will be," Naruto remarked. "So who should carry the scroll? Obvious choice is the strongest, but that's kinda too obvious. We could try also the fastest, but I personally think it should be the sneakiest. But Tenzo already knows that trick."

"So what do we do?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A short while later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The team exited the training grounds. They were surprised when nobody attacked them on the way out. They agreed it was probably because they had already fought it the forest once and their test proctor didn't want to be repetitive. It just meant they would have to be extra careful in the village.

They opted to walk through the busiest streets. It was slow, but they figured that they wouldn't be assaulted in a crowd of civilians. Their most pressing concern was now making it in time. Hana walked at the point looking feral and scowling. Her three canines surrounded her with their teeth bared. People were giving the group a wide berth.

The normalcy of the city life was slowly lulling them into letting their guards down, but they resisted it with all their might. Unfortunately that wasn't very much. Therefore they missed the drunkard stumbling through the crowd until she bumped into Hotaru.

"S'ry, girl, didna mean to," the woman slurred.

"Nothing happened," the girl replied trying to pry the wino's dirty hands off her.

"Really didna mean to," the drunk repeated.

"I know, I know, lady. Now please let go off me." Hotaru was beginning to lose patience, but than the woman suddenly let go of her. "Thanks," the kunoichi muttered. The drunkard shot them one last glance and the crowd swallowed her.

Naruto noticed something in her face, something disturbingly familiar. Was it a hint of a smirk? "Anko!" he realized.

"What?" Hana didn't understand his sudden outburst.

"The scroll! Do you still have it?" he turned to Hotaru.

"Of course I… She stole it!" The purple-haired sword wielder was furious.

"She's gone now," her young teammate observed. "What do we do?"

"Sniff her out, of course," Hana proclaimed.

"That might not be that easy," Naruto pointed out.

"Never underestimate an Inuzuka's nose," Hana smirked and without further ado started tracking.

"Never underestimate Anko," the blond corrected, but his female teammates paid him no heed.

Unfortunately it turned out Naruto was right, it really wasn't so easy. The trail led right through a puddle of spilled perfume. All four Inuzukas started sneezing.

"Told you so," Naruto couldn't resist saying. Hana shot him a murderous glare.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Elsewhere~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A figure ran over the rooftops. He paused for a brief moment, scanned his surroundings, than took off again in a different direction. He was close now. His target was just a few streets over, moving through the daily traffic completely unaware of its pursuer. He sped up for a bit, then halted. There, target in sight. He crouched down to devise an attack strategy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dango shop~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anko sat down in the comfortable chair and stretched her legs lazily. She inhaled the heavenly smell of the dumpling stick in her hand, then bit it down and savored its taste. She felt like she deserved the treat, no matter that her task had been ridiculously easy. The kiddies didn't even know what had hit them. Well, to be honest, Naruto had recognized her, but he had been too late. She had already disappeared in the crowd. Too bad that she didn't get to see their cute little faces when they found out, but nobody got all their wishes. Oh well, at least there always was her precious trusty dango to console her.

"Hey, lady," an obnoxious voice rudely brought her out of her fantasies. She turned to look at the perpetrator. It was a rather good looking man, if it wasn't for the lecherous smirk on his face. She immediately took a strong dislike towards him. "What are you doing here all alone?"

"None of your business," she hissed, clearly indicating she wasn't interested. He was either very stupid or very brave, because he didn't back off. Her guess was on the first.

"Beautiful young ladies like you shouldn't be sitting alone," the bloke stated sitting down beside her. She narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"I'm no lady and you'll be very sorry, if you don't get lost now." Most people would be running for their lives before she finished her sentence, but not this guy.

"My, my, aren't we in a sour mood tonight," the man chided. "But don't despair, I'm going to cheer you up."

She had enough. She punched the sucker. He fell to the ground clutching his wounded cheek.

Strong hand suddenly grabbed her. "Military police. You're arrested for public brawling." She froze. She hadn't even realized they were there. And Konoha's Police force generally didn't like her. She was in trouble. Then she felt a hand wandering under her coat.

"What are you…" she started when the hand suddenly withdrew. She caught a glimpse of something sailing through the air. The scroll. A hand caught it in the air. She noticed the whirl of a long brown ponytail, than the person melted into the crowd. She kicked the two policemen. They disappeared in twin puffs of smoke. Shadow clones. The man who had hit on her was gone as well. Figures.

"NO!" She shouted. She couldn't believe that she had been fooled by such a lame trick. She ran into the street and gave pursuit, but the culprits had masked their tracks well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~City park~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Did we make it?" a breathless Naruto asked. Though he could boast the greatest stamina of all the squad, he also possessed the shortest legs and had to work hard to keep up with his female companions.

"Yes, you did," Tenzo answered appearing from a tree. "And with a minute to spare."

"We didn't have to go so fast," the youngest genin complained.

"Shut up," Hana suggested.

"There are you," an enraged female voice shouted.

"Calm down, Anko, they've already finished. Game's over," the Mokuton user said.

"I'll get you next time," the snake mistress promised.

"Well now everybody's here, we can evaluate your work," Tenzo announced. The three genin tensed. "We'll start at the beginning. You had full ten minutes to prepare a strategy, but you wasted it arguing instead. That's just the sort of thing that would get you killed on a real mission." The threesome looked abashed. "And then you just rushed forward without a real plan. You didn't even look out for trouble. Again, you would have been dead. This sort of recklessness can be expected, though not acceptable, from a fresh genin like Naruto, but you girls had been in the field before, you really should have known better." Now they looked downtrodden.

"Then the attack. You were arguing among yourselves instead of paying attention to your surroundings. Do I have to say what could that cost you? Though on a positive note, you showed something akin to teamwork during the battle, but it could have been already too late. Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?"

"Well do better next time," Naruto offered.

"In real life, there is no next time," Tenzo reminded him. The boy returned to studying his feet.

"Let's move forward. Disarming the traps. Naruto, you acted without the consent of your comrades. Do you think you are the team leader?"

"No," the little blond answered.

"Then you can't afford to do such a thing. It doesn't matter that it worked this time, it could land you in a world of trouble anytime. Although I suppose telling you this has little effect and you'll have to learn the hard way." The boy refrained from answering.

"Then comes the second part of the test. You finally got it to your heads that you have to move in formation, but you weren't careful enough. What does it say about your situational awareness, if you get pickpocketed so easily?" Naruto pointedly glanced at Anko. She scowled back.

"But getting the scroll back like that was ingenious. Not many people can pull one over Anko like that. May I ask how did you manage to locate her?"

"Trade secret," Naruto declared with a foxy grin. He had transformed a couple of his Shadow Clones into bugs and hid them within the scroll. When it had been stolen, one of them dispelled, letting him know where Anko had stopped.

"Did it have something to do with the clone keeping watch from the rooftops?" Tenzo guessed.

"I thought I lost that one," Anko said.

"Not really," Naruto answered.

"Then how?" Anko inquired.

"Now, now," the boy smirked. "What kind of ninja would I be if I revealed my secrets?"

"Well then, keep your secrets," the older man decided. "The last part, your action against Anko. Nice teamwork there. I guess there is yet some hope for you." The three genin looked at him in askance. "Congratulations," he smiled, "You three passed."

"Yay!" Naruto jumped in elation. Hotaru punched the air. Hana just smiled, her dogs barked and wagged their tails.

"You can take the rest of the day off, get to know each other and enjoy life while you still can," advised their sensei, "because tomorrow your training starts. Meet me at the training grounds at sunrise and don't be late." His proclamation did nothing to sour his genin's mood. Well, they'll find out what they've gotten into soon enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha hospital~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana visited her sensei. He technically wasn't her sensei anymore, but she still thought of him as such.

"I've been placed on a new team, Yagi-sensei," she announced after the formalities were out of the way.

"Well, that's good. But isn't it too soon?"

"I feel like it is," the girl admitted. "But I guess it had to happen sooner or later, so why not just deal with it sooner."

"Good approach there," her old sensei smiled approvingly. "So how are they?"

"They're not them," she answered.

"Of course not," the bedridden man agreed. "They can never be. I know that myself. But what are they like otherwise?"

"Our new sensei seems to be a no-nonsense kind of guy. He gave us a tough test, much tougher than yours, but we passed," the dog mistress told him.

"And your teammates?" Yagi wanted to know.

"Well, first there's Hotaru. She seemed like an airhead at first, but she turned out to be actually somewhat competent. Then there's the little kid, Naruto. He looks barely old enough to start the Academy, but he knows his business. I feared he would be one of the snotty prodigy types, but he behaves like a hyper idiot. He reminds me of Juubei a bit."

"But he's not," the man stated.

"Exactly."

"I know how hard it is for you, but you can't get stuck in the past," he advised not for the first time. "Your new team sounds actually quite likable. Learn to appreciate them for who they are instead of comparing them with the dead."

"I know, sensei, and I'm trying," she sighed. "Honestly. But it's not as easy as it sounds."

"Isn't that the truth," he said sagely. "I've been in the same spot before. I pulled trough, but I've seen many who didn't. And believe me, you don't want to end up like them." A faraway look entered his eyes. "You really don't want to end up like them."

"I don't," she confirmed. "I'll try comparing the squirt with my little brother instead. Thinking of it, they are somewhat alike."

"Now that's the spirit," her sensei smiled. "And now, don't waste any more of your time on an old geezer like me. Go and catch up with your new teammates and family."

"Thank you. I think I'll do just that." She left the hospital room with a lighter heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The tree hideout~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was for once just lounging around, appreciating the quiet of the sunny afternoon. He made genin, he had a team, everything was perfect in the world. It took him a while to realize he wasn't alone.

"Tenzo," he greeted the newcomer. "Or should I call you sensei now?"

"Just when we're in public," his guardian answered. "So, how do you like your new team?"

"Hana's too gloomy," the foxy boy said, "but Hotaru's fine."

"Don't be harsh to her," the older man defended her. "She had something bad happen to her recently. She isn't over it yet."

"What happened to her?" Naruto was curious.

"It's not my place to tell. You should be worrying about team's training instead."

"What's to worry about? I've trained with you for years." Tenzo just smiled enigmatically. Naruto started to worry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hotaru's home~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She wasn't too surprised when she found her cousin waiting for her.

"So how was your new team's first meeting?" the older kunoichi asked.

"About as good as expected," the younger girl replied. "We passed the test, by the way."

"Congratulations, then," the woman smiled. "Your new sensei isn't wasting any time. Who is it, anyway?"

"Some guy named Tenzo."

"Tenzo," Yuugao wondered. "I'm surprised they gave him a team."

"Why?" Hotaru demanded. "Is there something wrong with him?"

"No," the older girl shook her head, "you're in good hands, but he already had an apprentice. A young boy."

"That sounds like one of my new teammates."

"So how do you like them?" Yuugao wanted to know. "Are they stuffed-up pricks like your old team?"

"I don't think so," she answered. "At least Naruto isn't. I'm not so sure about Hana."

"Well I don't really know her, but she didn't strike me as the type," Yuugao said. "She is probably just depressed now."

"What about?" the younger girl wanted to know.

"Not my place to tell, but it's a sound reason to be depressed. Now we should go celebrate your success, because if Tenzo haven't suddenly gone soft, you won't feel like celebrating for a long time to come."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarutobi was reading the report his analysts have provided with a frown. It stated that one of the slain ninja had been from Iwa, the other from Kiri. So far what can be expected from a bunch of nukenin. But the part about their equipment was worrisome. Their weapons have been crafted in the same workshop and it wasn't one Konoha's experts recognized.

It might mean nothing. Somebody might have just opened a new store and served all clientele. But it could also be more sinister. There might even be a new village being founded and they had already proven hostile towards Konoha. And this had to happen at the same time some disturbing info came about the Uchiha clan. He didn't want to believe they were really disloyal, but then they have always been power hungry and arrogant to boot.

For a countless time he wished there were someone younger worrying about this instead of him. But it wasn't to be. His successor got himself killed and his three students turned out useless in their own unique ways. In his worse moments he even considered just giving the hat to Danzo, but it never lasted long.

He sighed and started writing a message. He'll send Jiraiya to investigate. He just prayed it won't turn out to be too much trouble for his old bones to handle.

* * *

That's it for now. Next time: Missions!


	5. First mission

**A.N.:** I'm back with the fifth chapter. Thanks to everybody who stayed with me so far. Now please read and review.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Got it?**

* * *

The fugitive was stealthily crawling through the underbrush. It had been a long time since he last spotted his pursuers, but he didn't dare to lower his guard one bit. They were both skilled and persistent, they've proven it enough already. One mistake and he would be captured again. And then… just thinking about it gave him the creeps.

A twig snapped. That was nearby. Was it them? He carefully looked around, remaining hidden. Nothing. Even his sensitive ears couldn't pick a sound of pursuit. Yet he didn't allow himself to think he was safe. He resumed his travel.

An oppressive scent suddenly hit his nose. A dog? That was bad. He darted from his hiding place just in time to avoid the snapping jaws. And ran straight into the arms of another hunter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Forest of Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Got hi…muaaaaAAH!" Naruto screamed. Sharp teeth bit into his hand and he barely avoided a claw swipe that would have taken out his eye. "Stop it, you beast," he shouted, but the cat just scratched harder. He held it at arm's length, but unfortunately it wasn't far enough for him. He still got four bloody scratches on his face to accompany his birthmarks. He squeezed the animal in anger. It hissed and dug its claws into his forearm. He reflexively dropped it. Before it could escape again, Hotaru appeared and swiped it of the ground.

"What were you doing to the poor kitty," she chastised him.

"Poor kitty?" the boy doubted. "More like a rabid tiger."

"Well his name is Tiger," Hotaru pointed out, petting her captive's black fur. The tomcat was actually purring in her arms. Naruto couldn't believe it.

"Mission success," Hana grinned. This had gone well. She remembered how her original team used to struggle with this assignment. And Hotaru's have done even worse. But now it seemed like a breeze. Compared with the training Tenzo-sensei put them through, this was a walk in the park.

After their team was formed, they have slipped into a routine. They would meet every morning at sunrise and go through the personal drills. They had to run around the training grounds, do push ups, sit ups and squats until they thought they'll just drop down any time, worked on their taijutsu skills and chakra control. They thought they knew tree walking before, but Tenzo quickly corrected them. 'If you can't do it in the heat of a battle, it doesn't count,' he said and proceeded to prove the truth in this statement. They had struggled at first, but now they all could spar on a water surface without breaking a sweat. They also started working on their elemental affinities, but they haven't gotten any further then finding out their chakra natures and being explained the basic exercises. Hana had fire, Hotaru lightning and Naruto wind.

Afternoons varied. Sometimes they would take a D-rank mission, sometimes they sparred against each other, other times they teamed up against their sensei or one of his friends. Afterwards they would discuss the fights and think of a possible better strategy, then give it another go, rinse and repeat.

What they dreaded the most were the mock missions. Tenzo would give them an assignment of the same kind typical C-rank missions were and then let them work on it on their own. The objectives sounded simple, but something always went terribly wrong. Usually it was an enemy ninja appearing out of nowhere. They hadn't done a whole lot of them, but they gained a huge knowledge of most common ninja mishaps nevertheless.

Some afternoons and evenings were reserved for their individual trainings. Hana spent them studying with her aunt and her veterinary studies were coming along nicely. Hotaru practiced her swordsmanship with her cousin every time Yuugao wasn't on a mission. Then she would just practice her kata or study theory. Naruto was working with Tenzo on his kenjutsu and sometimes ninjutsu.

They returned home every night bruised, beaten and completely exhausted, but every one of them improved by leaps and bounds.

They also became a true team. Although they haven't completely opened up to each other yet, they were now feeling comfortable in each other's presence. The constant work helped Hana overcome her depression and she started smiling after the first month. All in all, life seemed good for them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mission room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They returned Tora safely to his owner and watched the poor cat get almost smothered by its overly enthusiastic daimyo's wife. Even Naruto, who had been grumbling about damned furballs from hell the whole way back, felt a pang of sympathy at that sight.

"Another mission success," the Hokage commented. "Your team seems to be doing fine, Tenzo. Are they ready for a C-rank mission?"

Tenzo hesitated only for a moment. His team had a fair understanding of cooperation and both the girls have already undertaken such missions. Naruto was still young and inexperienced, but he was also resilient and resourceful and Tenzo had full confidence that he'll pull through. And it had been two months since the formation of his squad and he had been thinking of asking for one for the last week or so.

"Yes, they are," he answered confidently.

"Excellent," the Sandaime smiled. "Here is your assignment. It's a search and rescue mission in the Gray Mist Mountains. You'll be looking for a group of missing prospectors. They group failed to return when they were scheduled to and though that it itself wouldn't be too worrisome, a local hunter found a bear eating human remains in the area. The ring on its finger and a scar identified the hand as belonging to one of them without a doubt. You are tasked to find them and bring them safely to civilization. In case they are already dead, you are to determine their fate and give a report about it to their superiors. If you find their possessions, they want you to bring them too, especially any maps and mineral samples. Details are in this scroll. Is everything clear?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Tenzo answered.

"Good. You may leave now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tenzo's apartment~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was bursting with excitement. Finally he was going on his first real ninja mission. The D-ranks didn't count. Just like every new genin he had been terribly disappointed when he got his first one, but he learned to cope and accept them as necessary evil. After all he needed a certain number of them before he was eligible for higher ranked ones. Yet he couldn't help but grumble every time he had to pull weeds, paint a fence or walk a dog. He didn't even want to think of the time he had to babysit a child older then him.

But now he was going on a real mission. Maybe if they would perform well enough, they wouldn't have to do another D-rank ever again. He realistically knew that it wasn't going to happen, but one could dream.

He was now packing everything he thought he might need. If he didn't know a bit about storage seals, he would have needed a cart for it, but even now his backpack threatened to burst in the seams.

Naruto had first learned about sealing when he was six. Tenzo had been sent on a lengthy mission and he arranged for a friend to babysit. Kanou was a retired shinobi. He once used to be in ANBU, but a hit with a weird jutsu caused him pain attacks at odd times. The medics were completely stumped and couldn't figure out what the problem was, much less find a cure. He supposed he was luckier than those who had lost their limbs or lives in the line of duty, but it forced him to quit his career all the same. Now he made a living by making storage scrolls and exploding tags.

He hadn't been too excited to have to watch over a kid and a notoriously hyper one to boot, but it hadn't been as bad as he had expected. He led Naruto to the training grounds, let him go through his routines and settled down to draw his seals. After a while the boy became intrigued and inquired what he was doing. He replied he was making storage seals for shuriken. He fully expected the child to back off, but instead the little blond was fascinated. That in turn intrigued him. Not many people were willing to study the delicate art of sealing nowadays unless they absolutely had to. And Kanou wasn't inclined to turn away a potential disciple.

He started to explain the basic principles and Naruto listened attentively. He seemed to have talent. They soon got to painting his own seals. By the end of their two-week stay together the boy could seal a shuriken on his own. They continued their lessons even after Tenzo returned, though less frequently. Now the pupil knew not just basic storage seals, but could also make his own blast note.

"What are you taking?" Tenzo asked. "There's no way you'll need all of these."

"Aren't you always drilling us on how we should be prepared for anything?" the genin replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I am," confirmed the jounin, "but that doesn't mean you have to take all your possessions on a mission. You have to learn to get by with just the basic provisions. If you carry all that, you'll be so tired you want be able to complete the mission once we arrived to the mountains."

Naruto seemed to consider this. "But how would I know what to leave behind? I don't know what I would need and what not."

"You have to think," his guardian explained. "What kind of mission are we assigned?"

"A search and rescue one," the boy answered.

"Correct," Tenzo nodded. "And what else do you know?"

"We'll be camping in the mountains. It's going to be cold and wet," the young ninja observed.

"True. What else?"

"It might take a long time," Naruto guessed.

"True again. Is that all you can think of?" the older man inquired.

"Well, there might be bears," he offered.

"Even that is true. But can't you think of anything else?" Tenzo looked at him expectantly.

"It is," Naruto sighed. "I'm missing something, aren't I?"

"Yes," Tenzo nodded. "Think. Why was our team sent on the mission?"

The blond boy scratched his head. "Because we're awesome probably isn't the correct answer," he tried.

"Too true," the jounin answered with a chuckle. "It's because we are a free response team."

"What does that mean?" Naruto wondered.

"That means we can undertake any kind of mission," the team leader explained. "We have Hana as a tracker, medic and heavy hitter close range fighter. Then there's Hotaru as a fighter and information gatherer. You are a close to mid range fighter, tracker and infiltration-assassination type. I cover long range fights and tough opponents. Do you get it now?"

"Maybe," the blond shrugged. "Are we going because we are theoretically able to deal with any situation, because anything can happen on this mission?"

"You got it," Tenzo smiled. "We have no idea what's waiting there. The prospectors had guards. They weren't shinobi, but that doesn't mean they were pushovers. They might have been massacred by a superior force or squashed by an avalanche. No way to know what to expect until we get there."

"I understand," Naruto nodded. "So how does it help me to decide what to take? Because it still sounds to me like I need everything."

"I'll show you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Inuzuka clan compound~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was leaving the village for the first time since that incident. She felt strangely reluctant to go. She couldn't help but fear something terrible was going to happen. She was scared she'd lose her new team just when she had grown to like them. She wanted to talk with her old sensei, but she couldn't find him. Her mother just advised her to get over it and be a proud Inuzuka. She knew Tsume was right. She even looked forward to seeing new places, but she couldn't help but worry.

"Do you have a mission, sis?" a young voice asked.

"Kiba," she exclaimed. "Already back from the Academy?"

"Of course, sis," the lad rolled his eyes. "It's nearly evening."

"It is," Hana realized with surpise. She must have been lost in thoughts far longer then it seemed.

"So you have a mission?" Her little brother was curious.

"Yes," she nodded. "I'm leaving tomorrow early morning."

"You're lucky," he whined. "When will I go on a mission?"

"When you graduate, Kiba," she answered. "So do your homework properly or it'll never happen."

"Of course I'll graduate," he took offense. "I'm an awesome ninja!"

She couldn't help but smile. "Well, I don't know. You're still stuck at the Academy."

"I won't be forever," he claimed. "And then you'll see. I'll make chuunin and then jounin in no time," he declared with utmost certainty.

"I'll hold you to your word," Hana smiled.

"So where are you going, sis?" he wanted to know. "Or is it secret?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "We aren't supposed to talk about ongoing missions with civilians."

"Come on," Kiba pleaded.

"Sorry, Kiba," she shook her head, "I can't tell."

"No fair," he pouted. "Can I at least go with you to the gates?" He unleashed the Puppy eyes of doom on her.

"Why not," she agreed. It would be nice to have somebody there to bide her farewell. After all, it might be even the last time they'd see each other. She suppressed the depressing thoughts. "But don't be late. We aren't waiting for anybody."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hotaru's apartment~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotaru was packing methodically. She had been only on a couple of C-ranks before, but she had a fair idea what to expect from this one. Rain, cold and lots of camping in the wild. It didn't sound like it would be anything exciting, just a routine. But it would look good on her record and get her a step closer to finally becoming chuunin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Village gates~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were scheduled to meet at dawn. Naruto had been there for an hour already, he couldn't wait to hit the road. Tenzo and Hotaru arrived with a few minutes to spare. Hana was almost running late.

"Hurry up or I'll just leave you behind," her voice came suddenly from nearby. "I don't want to miss my first mission with my new team."

"I'm running, sis," a child's voice replied.

"Too slow," Hana added. Then they rounded the corner and came in sight of Konoha's gates.

"Finally," Naruto greeted. "I was getting worried you wont make it."

"I'd have no trouble if that little twerp hadn't insisted on seeing me off," the dog mistress said.

"I'm wounded, sis. I thought you wanted me here," the youth with two red fang-like marks of the Inuzuka clan on his cheeks answered. "Would you introduce us?"

"Of course," Hana replied. "This is my younger brother Kiba. And those are my teammates, Tenzo-sensei, Uzuki Hotaru and Uzumaki Naruto."

"That is a ninja?" Kiba remarked disbelievingly. "He looks younger than me!"

"Don't be rude, bro," Hana chastised him. "And yes, he is a ninja. And not a bad one."

"I don't believe it," the younger Inuzuka stated. "How old is he?"

"Eight," his sister answered.

"Eight?!" Kiba couldn't believe his ears. "I'm eight too and I just started the Academy!"

"Now do you see why you have to study harder?" the older Inuzuka asked rhetorically.

"If you two are quite finished," Tenzo interrupted, "can we go? I would like to reach our destination by nightfall today."

"Yes, let's go," Hana agreed. "So long, Kiba. See you… well, whenever we return."

And then they turned and walked through the gates. Their first adventure together was awaiting them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near the Grey Mist Mountains~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had been running all day. Naruto had to work hard to keep up with his older and taller teammates, but his monstrous stamina allowed him to manage. But when they stopped for the night, he just fell down on the ground panting and refused to move until Tenzo threatened to eat his dinner. That made him to get up and help setting the camp.

"So what's the plan for tomorrow?" Hotaru asked.

"What's there to plan?" Naruto questioned. "We don't know anything about them so we'll just have to go to the last place they were seen and start tracking."

"Do you have any idea how long ago that was?" Hana asked.

Naruto wracked his memory. "Over three months?"

"You've got it, Tiny," the dog user confirmed. "Even an Inuzuka can't follow a scent that old, especially considering the frequent downpours here."

"What about the arm, then?" the blond offered.

"That is a better idea, but I'm afraid it won't work as well." Hana shook her head.

"Why?" Naruto didn't understand.

She didn't have to answer. It started to rain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The following day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning dawned cold and gloomy. The mist that gave the mountains their name fell down thick and they couldn't see any further than a few steps. The peaks that had loomed ominously over them the day before disappeared from their sight completely. The team was following a narrow path, huddled in their warm traveling cloaks, Hana's dogs at the point trying to catch scent of anything interesting. So far they caught only an unlucky hare which they promptly ate.

They hoped they were going the right way. The map the clients provided wasn't very informative, only a roughly drawn sketch with a red cross marking the place the expedition entered the range and another where the arm was found. They were on the opposite sides of the mountains.

Naruto found it strange that the mining company didn't have a better map of prospective ore sources. He asked Tenzo about it.

"They probably do, but they aren't showing it to anybody," the older man answered.

"Don't they want their people to be saved?" the boy wondered.

"Oh, they do," the jounin replied, "but not at the price of their secrets falling into the hands of their competition. If there really is an ore lode, it can earn them a lot more money than they lose on a group of dead prospectors."

Naruto considered the explanation. "If there is so much money at stake, why didn't they hire a more experienced team?"

"You'll find that rich people are unwilling to part even with a tiny portion of their wealth," the Wood user explained. "The company most likely doesn't expect their people to be still alive and hired us only for show. And I find it also believable that the expedition had sent them some report of their progress before they disappeared."

"If it is so, why didn't they tell us?" It was something the blond couldn't understand.

"Like I said, they don't want us to find their newest lode and possibly tell somebody else."

"That's sick," Naruto commented.

"Boy, you have yet to see anything," Tenzo remarked.

They have been walking for hours. The fog had yet to lift. The pathway led them uphill. The trees around them changed. Instead of the lush forests they knew from the vicinity of Konoha, spiky conifers were now growing around them. Even the ever present chirping of birds have slowly waned and only an occasional rustle of grass let them know that they weren't in a dead land.

"We should be close now," Tenzo announced when they entered a wide valley covered in strange mountain grass and flowers. "According to this map, the arm has been found somewhere on the other side of this small plain, near the creek."

They left the already dwindling path and crossed the meadow. It turned out to be a marshland in disguise and Hotaru grumbled about getting mud in her shoes. The three genin were eternally grateful to their sensei for his merciless drills in water-walking.

Hana sent her dogs to sniff out the area, but predictably they found nothing.

"What now?" Hotaru asked.

"Now we think about where an arm could have come from to end up here," Tenzo answered.

"From up there," Hotaru pointed to the steep valley side.

"Or maybe it floated down the stream," Naruto suggested.

"That's more likely," Hana agreed. "There are bushes, trees and boulders up the slope. Nothing as small as a human hand could have rolled through it. But the bear could have carried it from anywhere. And we aren't even sure we found the correct place."

"So we follow the brook upstream," Naruto said.

"You got it, kid," the Inuzuka answered. They set off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Evening~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They followed the creek until it turned into a small trickle.

"Nothing could have floated down this," Hotaru pointed out.

"Is it just me or are we fresh out of ideas?" Naruto spoke.

The fog was thick as ever and the nearing dusk stole what little light found its way through it.

"It seems like we won't find anything today, so let's just start a camp," Tenzo decided. His team was delighted to hear those words.

Next morning dawned bright and sunny. The four ninja looked around themselves in wonder. They found it hard to believe they were still in the same place. The oppressive mist from yesterday was completely gone and imposing mountain peaks stood around them tall and proud, bathing in the golden sunlight, slivery snow glittering on their tops. Azure sky reflected in a lake they have completely missed the evening before.

"It's beautiful," Naruto whispered reverently.

"It is," Tenzo agreed. "You don't get to see such near Konoha. I still remember when I saw the mountains for the first time. I had to pick my jaw from the ground as well."

"Can we climb up there and take a look around?" the young blond asked excitedly. "I mean we might see something from the expedition from up there."

"I don't see why not," his guardian answered with a smile. "It's not like we have a better plan anyway. And it might actually work, who knows. If not, than we'll just have to trek through the whole range until we find something."

"But that's a huge area," Hotaru almost panicked.

"That's true," their jounin-sensei nodded. "But such are the perils of shinobi life. And never forget, it could have been worse."

The three genin winced when they remembered some of the mock missions they took during their training. Each of them started to count all the places an enemy could hide, name all the dangerous animals that could live here and search for potential avalanche sites.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They made a good time to the nearest overpass. They encountered no trouble on the way there, only some stones giving out under their feet, but their finely honed reflexes allowed them to find purchase before they could slide down the slope.

The vastness of the Grey Mist Mountains opened before their eyes. They could see peaks, valleys, creeks, ravines, lakes, meadows, waterfalls, boulders and forests, but they couldn't see a single sign of the missing expedition.

"What now?" Naruto asked dejectedly. He seemed to only now realize how much ground they would have to cover.

"We'll search the next valley," Hana answered. "And then the next. And then the next. And next. And again. Do you get it, squirt?"

The boy grimaced. "Unfortunately yes. We'd better begin then. Hey, what's that," Naruto pointed at the peak across a steep valley.

"What?" Tenzo asked.

"I'm not sure," Naruto answered hesitantly. "I thought I saw a flash of something bright purple but it's gone now."

"I haven't seen anything. What about you, girls?" They both shook their heads. "Hn, well. It's not like we have a better idea. Where did you see it, Naruto?"

"Over there," the blue-eyed boy pointed. "On the peak with the split top. Just above the large patch of ice."

"I see what you mean," the jounin confirmed. "Ok, team, let's go."

Reaching the spot Naruto pointed out took them the rest of the day. The sun was about to touch the horizon, when they stopped.

"So, where exactly was it?" Tenzo inquired.

"Somewhere here," Naruto answered. "I can't tell exactly. I don't see anything now though."

"You're not the only one," Hotaru commented.

"There," Hana pointed to the left.

"What?" everybody turned in surprised.

"I noticed it," the Inuzuka explained. It's a piece of cloth. It's purple on one side and grey on the other. That's why we couldn't see it unless the wind lifted it up."

"You're right," the youngest member of the team exclaimed. "I can see it now. It looks like it's weighted down by that boulder, otherwise it would have been blown away. I'll bring it here."

"Don't be hasty," Tenzo chided. "The rocks around it don't look too stable."

Naruto paid his warning no heed. He took of at a jog heading towards a man-sized piece of rock laying on the percipience. "Don't worry," he shouted over his shoulder. "I'm small and light so I'm the best man for this job." He grabbed the cloth. "There, see, no reason to worry."

He pulled on the cloth. It refused to give. Not wanting to tear it, he pushed the stone. The boulder moved unexpectedly easily. Naruto yelped in surprise and lost his footing. He grabbed the nearest rock, but it gave out under him. He fell backwards onto a small glacier. He tried to get a hold on it, but even when he applied chakra to his hands the only thing he accomplished was taking small chunks of snow and ice with him. It didn't slow down his descent a bit.

He glanced downwards and immediately wished he could just take it back. He was nearing the edge of the iceberg rapidly, after that there was a drop. He couldn't see how high it was, but given his luck probably a lot. 'I'm going to die here,' went through his head. He tried jumping upwards but he succeeded only in kicking up some snow. His short life flashed in front of his eyes, but nothing he saw showed him a way out of this situation.

Just when he was about to fall over the edge, a desperate idea struck him. He remembered a practice session with Tenzo. The man had shown him a new jutsu and he had been itching to try it out. He had formed the necessary handseals. Suiton: Water shockwave. The jet of liquid had shot from his mouth and towards his sparring partner. Unfortunately he had forgotten he had been standing on water surface. The reaction propelled him backwards and he skidded several feet before coming to a stop.

Naruto prayed this might help him in his current situation. There was no water around and snow didn't really count. His fingers flew through the required positions at a speed previously unmatched. He exhaled and spat out the water. Instead of the expected trickle he got a wide stream of boiling, steaming liquid. 'What's happening?' he wondered briefly. A familiar burning heat seeped into his veins.

The jutsu stopped his descent, but he was already in the air with no purchase in sight. The backlash of the technique also made him rotate backwards in such a way that he couldn't use it again. It would have just sent him crashing down faster. He panicked. He tried to grab the side of the mountain even though it was out of his reach. He didn't find it strange when a red claw of chakra extended from his arm and plowed into the rock. It tore out a large chunk of stone but failed to find purchase. He was still falling.

He turned in the air again and saw the ground almost upon him. He thrust his arms in front of him. There was a flash of red, then pain, then darkness.

* * *

Evil cliffhanger no jutsu, I've been looking forward to this for so long.

Next time: It will be proven, that C-ranks can be a world of trouble even when staying within the parameters.


	6. Perils of the mountains

**A.N.:** For everybody who complained about the evil Cliffhanger, here is the conclusion. Once more thanks to everybody who bothered to read it so far, much more thanks to those who bothered to review.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I. D.O.N.T. O.W.N. N.A.R.U.T.O. Here it is spelled out. Happy now?**

* * *

"Naruto!" Hana shrieked when she saw her teammate disappear over the edge. She couldn't lose another teammate, not so soon after…

She started forward, but a strong hand grabbed her upper arm halting her progress.

"Let me go," she shouted trying to free herself.

"No," Tenzo commanded. "Do you want to fall as well? The ground's unstable there!"

"I can't…" she spoke, when her dogs started to whine and cower. Their fur stood on its ends. "What?" she asked startled. She could feel it now herself, an ominous oppressive feeling in the air caused by power like she never encountered before. No, that wasn't true. She had felt it somewhere, but it had been so long ago that she'd forgotten it. Now the buried memory was pushing its way to the forefront of her consciousness.

Almost as suddenly as it begun, the terrifying aura disappeared and the blurry snippet of a memory with it. But she now knew it was there.

"What was that?" Hotaru asked equally perturbed.

"I'm not sure," Tenzo answered. It wasn't a lie. He had recognized the chakra, it was unmistakable after all, but he didn't know what exactly it meant. He knew that the Kyuubi's power manifested when Naruto was in danger and he only hoped the boy survived.

"We have to find Naruto," the Inuzuka insisted.

"How would you do it? It'll be dark soon," the purple-haired girl pointed out.

"We have good noses," the dog mistress reminded her.

"Can it tell you which rock is loose?" Their sensei picked at an obvious flaw in her plan.

Hana seemed taken aback. This hadn't occurred to her.

"We'll use a rope. If someone fell down the others can catch him," Tenzo decided.

"And what if you fall, sensei? Wouldn't you just drag us down with you?" Hotaru couldn't help but worry.

"I can catch myself," he assured them. "There's a reason I'm a jounin after all."

"If you say so, sensei."

They quickly tied themselves to a rope and started their slow descent into the ravine. The sun has set and night fell on the mountains.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Naruto~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He woke up to find himself in a dark, damp corridor. 'Where am I?' he wondered. He tried to remember how he had gotten here. His mind came up only with images of mountains, then a cloth, and then a fall. Oh. 'Am I dead?' No, this didn't look like any kind of afterlife he had ever heard about. But then, what did anyone really know about such things? It's not like they visited there before.

He got up and started walking slowly. He had no idea for how long he had walked in the knee deep water (where did it come from?), time seemed to have no meaning here. He suddenly realized that the corridor wasn't so dark anymore. There was blood red light coming from somewhere ahead. He continued his slow advance.

Then he stood inside a large chamber without remembering entering it. The walls and ceiling were lost somewhere in the darkness around, only the echoing sounds of dripping water hinted at their presence. Directly in front of him stood a huge gate composed of gleaming iron bars. Where one would expect a lock there was just a piece of paper with the word 'seal' written calligraphically. Behind the bars laid the source of the depressive illumination.

Naruto squinted and made a few steps forward to get a better look at that thing. It moved. The boy stopped. Two giant red eyes opened and bore straight into him. He froze.

"_**So you have finally come,"**_ sounded a deep resonating voice. In seemed to be everywhere, but the young blond knew it was the creature in front him that spoke. He had never seen it before, yet he had no doubt about its nature.

"So here I am," he answered boldly. He didn't actually feel it and the creature could tell.

"_**Come near so I can see you better,"**_ it commanded. Naruto's legs moved on their own volition. He realized what was happening and stopped.

"Why should I?" He decided to go on with the defiant act.

"_**Because I said so**__,"_ the demon roared.

"That's not a good reason," the youth replied. The beast lunged at the gate. The boy took a frightened step back. The Bijuu couldn't break the gate, but red liquid started to seep through the bars.

"_**I'll show you why you should listen to me**__,"_ Kyuubi growled.

Naruto frantically looked around. He just knew that the red closing on him was bad, but he had no idea how to stop it.

"Stop!" he shouted.

"_**Are you sure?"**_ the huge fox asked_. __**"You stupid mortal don't realize it, but my power is the only thing keeping you alive. Your weak flesh is currently lying broken at the bottom of a ravine. If I stopped the flow, you'll die."**_

"And what would happen to you then?" the demon's vessel countered. The demon stayed silent. "I thought so," smirked the child. "You can't afford to let me die."

"_**Don't be so sure of yourself, human. You have no idea what I can do." **_The beast loomed over him ominously.

"And what exactly can you do behind the bars?" The young shinobi was slowly gaining his confidence back.

The fox grinned. It included a lot of long sharp teeth. _**"Do you really want to find out?" **_Naruto suddenly wasn't so sure of himself. _**"I thought so,"**_ the Nine-tailed beast nodded contentedly. _**"Remember this, little kittling. I am always here. I see everything you do. I can aid or hinder you. What I'll do depends on what I feel like doing and I rarely feel like helping out people I don't like, which means nearly everyone, though I might sometimes do it anyway if it promises to be funny. And never anger me. I might then just retract all my chakra from your system and then you'll see how pathetic you are without it. If it's all, leave."**_

And Naruto woke up in darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With the team~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Their descent was too slow. Although the moon shone brightly in the starry sky, it served mostly to deepen the shadows. Every one of them had slipped at least once, but the rope had always served its purpose. There had been a close call when a boulder gave under Tenzo's legs and the whole company started falling, but then trees shot up from the ground and halted them.

"That was close," Hana remarked trying to slow down her racing heartbeat.

"Wow," Hotaru exclaimed. "Can you just build us a stairway?"

"I'm afraid that would be too draining," the man replied.

"I was just asking," the swordswoman shrugged.

Tenzo was forced to do it anyway when the slope became too steep. Afterwards he sat down and panted heavily.

"No more jutsu today," he announced to no-one in particular.

"We're all tired, but we cannot stop," Hana spoke. "Not when he's lying there wounded. We're almost down now."

Then the darkness around them deepened. They looked up. Sometime during the night the wind had picked up and brought heavy clouds. And to stress the point about mountain weather being fickle it started to snow heavily.

"That was the last thing we needed," Hotaru declared. Nobody disagreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bottom of the valley~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For a long time Naruto laid unmoving. He felt like he broke every single bone in his body and though he knew that wasn't true, he could still count a fair number of fractures. Most of them were on his arms, but his left ankle hurt like hell and two or three of his ribs must have been cracked. And to top it his vision was blurred signaling concussion and the pain in his stomach hinted at internal damage. He was no medic but he could tell he was bad off.

He tried to find something positive in his situation. 'My team is still out there,' was the only one he could come up with, besides simply being still alive, but he didn't expect them to find him any sooner than in the morning, maybe noon. That is if they didn't think he was already dead and abandoned him.

He felt a sharp stab of pain at that thought. Tenzo surely wouldn't leave him for the dead, but a sliver of doubt still lingered. What if his guardian thought he hadn't survived? But the older man should by now know he was tough. And what if they fell to their deaths trying to save him? The idea sent chills running down his spine. He would never forgive himself. What would he tell to Hana's annoying little brother and… whatever families his teammates had. It occurred to him they had never talked about it. There was no time for idle chitchat during their practice sessions. He resolved to learn more about his squad should they all get out of this alive.

Then it started to snow. He knew he should try to find shelter or at least conserve his body heat, but he was still too hurt to move. He settled for admiring the ethereal beauty of snowflakes instead. There wasn't much chance to do so in Konoha. In fact he never saw snow there, but he heard it had happened before.

He registered a sound that didn't belong. He was tempted to simply ignore it, he felt lazy and comfortable and warm. He just wanted to close his eyes and sleep. But some survival instinct forced him to respond. He lifted his head to search for its source. The pain hit him once again along with a sense of vertigo. He realized he was gravely wounded and slowly freezing to death. He gritted his teeth. He had to move or he'd sure die here. And Naruto didn't want to die.

He braced himself for the pain and slowly lifted himself on his elbows. He thanked Kami his upper arms weren't shattered. He had to stop for a while and wait until he could think clearly again. Then he opened his eyes, he didn't remember closing them, and looked around. He couldn't see much, just his closest surroundings covered in a layer of white.

The sound resounded again and Naruto thought it was closer than the last time. He tried to determine its source. Nothing. Then in sounded right next to his ear. He startled and promptly fell. The pain almost knocked him unconscious right then, but he somehow managed to stay awake. He turned his head a bit.

A wolf! For a moment he hoped it was just one of Hana's dogs, but no such luck. This was a big and hungry creature of the wild. And his arms were broken. It was official, his life sucked. Especially what little time was left of it. He went through his list of available options. It was pitifully short. Only his right leg appeared to be in a working state. Unfortunately he couldn't kick the animal from this position.

He wracked his brain desperately for another way to save himself. But he didn't know a single technique that didn't require the use of his hands. He had barely started on the elemental recomposition. Wait, that was it. He couldn't cut the leaf yet, but the last time he tried a small dent appeared near its edge. And if he didn't know a usable jutsu, he'd just had to create his own.

He took a deep breath, desperately ignoring the protests of his ribs, and concentrated on sharpening his chakra and sending it to his lungs. He moved his head that he was now facing the wolf head on. Then he screamed.

A jet of charged air rushed out of his lungs, hitting the prowling predator in the side. The beast was blasted off its paws. Cuts appeared in its coat and red flowed out. The animal howled in pain. It ran off to lick its wounds and look for some easier prey.

Naruto knew nothing of that. He fainted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back on the slope~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"A wolf," Hotaru startled. "That's not good."

"It sounded scared," Hana added. "What could have happened to it? And what was the first screech? I've never heard anything like that before."

"Maybe Naruto is up and defending himself," Tenzo offered. His students looked at him dubiously.

"After that fall? It would be a miracle if he survived. And it wasn't his voice," the Inuzuka commented.

"You never know," the man replied.

"We're at the bottom now," the purple-haired kunoichi remarked.

"Finally," the dog mistress exclaimed. She quickly untied her dogs from the rope. "Go, boys. Find Naruto," she commanded them. They obediently disappeared in the snow.

Not too long after that there was a joyful bark.

"They found him," the Inuzuka translated. "Quick!" She ran off. The others followed at a more cautious pace. They were still worried about what could be lurking in the darkness.

"Naruto!" Hana shouted in a panicked voice. The others hurried towards her.

They could soon see what she was so worried about. The boy was lying unmoving on the ground, the white snow covering most of his body. Only his face remained unobscured.

"Is he alive?" Hotaru asked. It was hard to believe that he might be.

"Yes," the dog user confirmed. She quickly started a medical jutsu and ran a diagnosis. "It's bad," she announced. "He has multiple fractures, ruptured spleen, damaged lungs and hypothermia. There are also signs of chakra depletion and something I can't decipher."

"What does it mean?," Hotaru inquired.

"We have to keep him warm and pray," the medic elaborated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morning dawned sunny and bright and the peaks glittered like they were made of gold. No rays found their way to the bottom of the valley. Their makeshift camp remained cold.

Hana moved from her spot beside Naruto. Due to lack of firewood they had to cuddle together to keep their wounded teammate warm.

She ran through a diagnostic technique. The results convinced her that she shouldn't use veterinary techniques on humans. There was no way the young boy could have gotten better in such a short time. She considered it a small miracle that he hadn't passed on yet, but when she took a good look at him, it seemed like some color returned to his cheeks. She shrugged it off. It must be the light.

She took out her bottle and tried to make him drink. A lot of the water ended spilled on the ground, but some liquid still got in. She closed the bottle and laid back down beside her patient.

They were alone currently. Both Hotaru and Tenzo-sensei left earlier to look for firewood and maybe even something fresh to eat. Her dogs were prowling around the perimeter, keeping watch in case another wolf decided to try for an easy meal.

She sighed. They had been here only for a few hours and she already hated this place. It was cold and wet and the ground underneath them was hard and bumpy. Worst possible place for a wounded child to be, but unfortunately Naruto's condition didn't allow him to be moved. They were in for a lengthy stay here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Down in the valley~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotaru was following the stream. What had been a small trickle just yesterday grew into a fair-sized creek due to the melting snow and the water was still rising. She just hoped it won't cause a flood, or worse a landslide. They definitely didn't need any more trouble.

Her feet slipped on an ice-covered rock. Only her quick reflexes saved her from plunging into the icy brook. She stopped for a moment. They couldn't afford another wounded either.

Then something caught her eye. A shape that didn't belong there was hiding under the white covering. She cautiously approached it and brushed away the snow. She hadn't been mistaken. It really was a backpack. And it certainly wasn't one of theirs.

"Bingo," she whispered. It seemed that at least part of their luck turned. In her opinion it was long overdue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The camp~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotaru proudly showed the rest of the squad her find.

"Excellent work," Tenzo praised her. "We know we're on the right track. Once Naruto can move around, we'll follow it."

"That will take a long time," Hana commented.

"I know," the man sighed. "Have you looked inside yet?"

"No," she shook her head, "I was waiting for the team to gather."

"Well, then open it now," her sensei suggested.

Hotaru pulled the zipper. She didn't know what she had been expecting, but the contents of the bag seemed completely ordinary, just some clothes and provisions. She felt oddly let down. She begun to search the side pockets. She found just a half-empty matchbox, completely sodden, and a broken compass.

"He probably got lost," she muttered.

Hana had been looking over the clothes, when her fingers touched something in one of a jacket pockets. She carefully took out a piece of folded paper. It was wet, but it had been spared worst of the moisture.

"Careful with it," Tenzo advised. She began slowly unfolding it.

"What is that?" Hotaru wondered at the sight of curved colorful lines and strange squiggly signs.

"A map," her sensei explained. "Or more like a plan, since it seems to cover only a small area."

"But which one?" Hana asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Tenzo answered.

"Isn't that just the kind of things our clients wanted?" A voice they hadn't expected to hear joined the discussion.

"Naruto! You're awake," the Inuzuka exclaimed.

"Yes, and I'm hungry," the boy added.

"Stay still, I'll look you over," the medic commanded.

"Okay, but be quick," the boy agreed. "I'd eat a horse. And I have to… you know."

"Yes, I know," she nodded. "Now hold still."

"What?!" Hana startled when she ran the jutsu over him.

"Is it bad?" Naruto inquired. She didn't answer. She repeated her technique. The diagnosis was the same.

"It seems you're healing just fine," she answered. "In fact, too fine to be humanly possible." She couldn't miss the boy tensing. "What is it, a bloodlimit I've never heard before?"

"Something like that," the blond replied unconvincingly.

"Then why haven't you just said so?" the Inuzuka huffed. "You worried me needlessly."

"Sorry," Naruto apologized.

"Don't worry about it," the dog user waved her hand over the matter. "Now rest and concentrate on healing. I don't know about you, but I'd like to leave here as soon as possible."

"Me too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Two days later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto's condition finally improved enough for him to walk. He tried to run ignoring the pain in his still mending bones, but Tenzo managed to stop him.

"If you hurt yourself again, I'll bind you and personally carry you all the way to Konoha," he threatened. The boy pouted but obeyed.

They carefully set on the road. They would have been going slow anyway; they were searching for the remains of the lost expedition. Naruto insisted on carrying his own backpack, but his guardian was unrelenting. "Heal first," he commanded. The boy pouted, but had to obey. In fact, he didn't mind too much. He was still sore all over.

They walked down the valley at a leisure pace. Hana's dogs were running left and right sniffing for something interesting. The snow had finally melted, but gray clouds covered the sky promising another batch anytime.

One of the Haimaru triplets barked. "What have you found?" its mistress asked. The group headed its way. They soon saw its find.

It was a human bone, ulna to be precise. Tooth marks showed where hungry wolves had torn the meat off. But that wasn't so interesting.

"Look at this," Tenzo pointed out a deep gash. "That wasn't done by any predator. It was caused by a sword."

"Bandits," Naruto guessed, "or ninja?"

"Perhaps, but don't get too excited. We're in the middle of nowhere," the more experienced man reminded. "Highwaymen would die of hunger here. There is a possibility that somebody hired shinobi to dispose of the group, but they would have been better at hiding the bodies."

"Maybe they thought they didn't have to bother," Naruto offered. "We are in the middle of nowhere after all."

"It's possible," Tenzo agreed. "But professionals wouldn't be so careless anyway. We won't know until we find the rest. But for now, be extra cautious."

"Why?" Hana questioned. "This bone is old. Certainly over a week."

"Because on a mission you never know," answered the jounin. He designed the mock-missions from real-life experience after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had found more remains of the unlucky expedition, a cleaned bone here, a torn article of clothing there. Most of them were scratched by animal teeth, but some bore marks of weapons as well. They looked for any clue that would shed some light on the prospectors' last day, but they had been unlucky so far. They couldn't puzzle out more that that they had been attacked and slain and then the wildlife had feasted on their bodies. So far there was no hint about their attackers' identities.

A bit of breakthrough came late that afternoon. It came in the form of a leather bag, better preserved than most of the other equipment.

"It's heavy," Hana observed when she picked it up.

"What's inside?" Naruto asked.

"Rocks," she answered.

"Rocks?" The boy sounded disappointed.

"Yes," she confirmed. "These must be the mineral samples the company wanted so badly. We'll take them with us."

"So we have to drag a bag full of rock all the way through the mountains? Great," Naruto complained.

"It's not like you have to carry it yourself," Hotaru commented. That was true. While the wounded boy had been deemed fit enough to walk on his own, he wasn't allowed to carry his luggage. Tenzo had his backpack instead.

The blond pouted. "I can carry it, you know."

"No, I don't," Hana stated. "And shouldn't you be happy to avoid work?"

"No!" Naruto protested. "It's just… I haven't done anything but cause trouble on this mission. I don't want to be so useless, not even able to carry my own things."

"You aren't useless," the Inuzuka consoled him. "You've noticed the cloth. If you didn't, we could have been still just wandering around aimlessly."

"That was just luck," Naruto argued.

"Even luck is important," Hotaru claimed.

"Yet I wish I could do more," the blond sighed.

"I understand perfectly," Hana nodded. "Maybe you'll get your chance next time."

"Yes, maybe," the boy replied.

"So what's in the bag?" the purple haired kunoichi decided to change the course of conversation.

"I clearly remember saying rocks," the Inuzuka answered.

"I know, but what kind of rocks?" Hotaru clarified. "Did they find some precious gems or gold or something that's worth killing for?"

"Let's have a look." The dog mistress knelt down and started going through the bag's contents. The squad looked on attentively. "Rock, rock, another rock and a stone for a change," Hana commented. "And here's another rock and yet another stone. And what's that?" she picked one of them for a closer inspection. It looked no different from the other ones to their eyes, expect for a few glittering specks.

"Maybe they had really found gold," Naruto offered jokingly.

"Don't be stupid," Hotaru chided. "It's probably just fools' gold."

"Pass it here," Tenzo commanded. "Guys, this looks like it might be real gold."

"No kidding?" Naruto couldn't believe his ears. "That sounds like something from an adventure story."

"That sounds like a reason for murder," Hotaru corrected.

"I don't know, those few dots wouldn't buy you dinner even if they really were gold," Hana pointed out.

"Then maybe there's more elsewhere," Naruto speculated.

"Maybe, and maybe it isn't even real gold," Tenzo entered the argument. "None of us is an expert. We shouldn't come to any conclusions without any proof."

They resumed their journey.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~After two days~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Their progress had been slowed, but they were able to pick up their pace as Naruto's condition kept improving. When they reached the foot of the mountains, he insisted he was all right and could tree hop again. His medic insisted he'd take it easy anyway.

They had found some more human remains, but that had ended before they entered the forest. After that they came across only one body, nearly eaten by carrion birds. The remains of his clothes hinted that he had been a soldier, but there were no weapons.

"Isn't it strange?" Hotaru wondered.

"I thought the culprits had taken them," Naruto replied.

"But who robbed this one? It happened as a separate incident," the sword wielder pointed out.

"Maybe he was one of them and they argued about splitting the loot," the boy offered.

"Who would have thought, Tiny actually said something intelligent," Hana teased.

"I have my moments," the blond smirked.

Not too long after that they left the mountain range. The valley they had been following widened into a shallow depression. Rolling grassy hills spread out before them.

"Where now," Hotaru asked. "They could have taken any direction from here."

"And the track is so cold even my dogs cannot pick it," Hana added.

"That's true," Tenzo admitted, "but we can always ask. If I'm not mistaken, there's village just over that hill."

They had no idea how he could tell, but he was right. There really was a tiny hamlet just where he said.

"What the hell happened here," Naruto wondered aloud. The reason for his question was apparent. One of the houses in the settlement was burnt down and there was a spot that looked suspiciously like blood on the wall of another. Also the herbs and vegetables in several gardens were broken, footprints still recognizable in the yards. A dead giveaway was also the fact that the villagers scattered and ran upon seeing them approach.

"It looks like a bandit raid," Tenzo guessed from experience. "It seems we're still on the right track."

It had taken them quite a while to find a person willing to talk to them, but eventually they managed to convince a young man that they weren't going to rob them off and slit their throats in their sleep. Then they asked him about recent happenings.

"They came over a week ago," the man started. "They just threatened everyone into taking them in. They took whatever they wanted, including women. Jiro tried to fight them, but they just beat him up and set his house on fire, with him inside. No-one dared to speak a word against them after that. They spent six days here. Some of them were roughened up and they were waiting for them to recuperate. They left just the day before yesterday."

"We're catching up to them," Naruto exclaimed. "Let's go!"

"And just where do you think you are going," Tenzo stopped him. "You have no idea where are they headed. And besides, it's almost evening. We're staying here for the night and we'll try to gather more information about them. Understood?"

"Understood," the youngest member of the squad confirmed a bit put down. But even he had to admit that the jounin was right.

* * *

Next time: The mission conclusion


	7. Gold fever

**A.N.:** One more thanks to the ~400 people who bothered to read my story so far, sending imaginary cookies to whoever bothered to review.

To Sceptical: I you want to have a response to your opinions, please send a signed review. But becouse your concerns are valid, I address them anyway.

1) Tenzo couldn't suppress the Kyuubi's chakra without the Shodais's necklace. I'd have to reread the manga, but I think the necklace just makes the jutsu much easier to use.

2) Nobody getting away with killing Konoha Shinobi. That might have sounded a bit harsh, but there is a bit difference between what Sarutobi thinks and what he ends up doing. There's also a big difference between declaring war on one of the major countries and chasing a bunch of rogues. Also if Konoha appeared weak, everybody would try to walk all over them.

3) The Uchiha being discriminated against. If you look at the treatment of Sasuke, it seems that the Uchiha clan was generally well-loved. The only one who claimed they were shunned was Uchiha Madara and he's biased and raving mad. He also said it when he was convincing Sasuke to take his revenge on Konoha, ergo not the most trustworthy source of information.

That would be it, now on with the story.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I don't own Naruto. I don't own Naruto. How many times do I have to repeat it?**

* * *

They covered the ground much faster then any civilian. The tracks in front of them were fresh and clear, so they could follow them without trouble even if they didn't have the keen noses of the Haimaru triplets to help them. Therefore they reached the city the bandit company had settled for the night not too long after sunset. Despite the late hour the streets were bustling with life, the streetlamps providing illumination rivaling daylight. Naruto was staring wide-eyed. He had never seen anything like this.

"How are we going to find them in here?" he wondered aloud. They managed to interrogate enough of the villagers to piece together the renegades' plans. It seemed they weren't overly concerned with discovery, their crime happening in one of the remotest parts of the Fire Country, but they weren't taking needless chances either. The peasants weren't sure about it, but it sounded like their leaders had some previous experience with evading law.

"I picked some scents on the way here," Hana announced. "Some of them I recognize from that village. But finding them among so many people won't be easy."

"Can you do it?" Tenzo asked.

"I think so. I can still smell their tracks," the Inuzuka assured them.

"Then lead on."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Blue Swan Inn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heishiro locked himself in his room. He shut the windowpanes and cautiously made sure that he was really alone. If anybody saw him looking through the small closet or under the low bed, they would call him paranoid, but he knew better. It never hurt to make sure, it was the only think that kept him alive for his long dubious career.

His search concluded he calmed down. He truly was alone and safe. Only then he dared to take out a small pouch from a secret pocket in his vest. Despite its size the thing was heavy. Heishiro weighted it in his hand contentedly. He had never expected such a success when he had accepted his last job, but they had hit gold. Literally.

He laid the bag on the small table and carefully undid the string holding it close. He savored the moment as he slowly opened it. Its contents glinted bright yellow in the candlelight and he was once again struck by its sheer beauty. He could do nothing but stare at it for hours on end. This was what he always strived for.

The family he had been born into hadn't been poor, but they weren't wealthy either. They had never starved, but they couldn't afford anything costly as well. And to make the point clearer, they lived near the rich district in the capital, both of his parents being servants. He grew up surrounded by lavish luxury that wasn't his, knowing that he most likely would become a servant too, silent, invisible, catering to his masters' needs without even being acknowledged.

Heishiro hated such life. He decided to change it and find his own destiny. He had no set plan until one day he encountered a ninja. That young man was hired by one of the local nobles for something or other, Heishiro never knew nor cared, but he was amazed at the power the shinobi emitted. Here was a person who didn't have to bow to anyone, strong enough to go wherever he wanted and fell whoever stood in his way. It was then that Heishiro knew what his path in life would be.

He ran from home the following day. He barely remembered to leave a note for his parents. It was the last time he ever saw them, but it never really bothered him. His old way of life simply gave way for a new one. That was how things were.

He wandered for weeks before he eventually reached Konoha. He felt like he entered heaven. For a long time he just strolled down the streets and admired the shinobi and kunoichi milling around. Then he entered the Ninja Academy.

It had been a huge disappointment. He had to endure useless lessons of history and when it came to the practical ones, he found himself left in the dust by his snotty clan brats of classmates. Once again he found himself in a world of nobility who towered above him, ready to stomp him in the ground like a bug without even caring. He tried to study harder, but to no avail. He flunked. He couldn't bring himself to admit it was from a lack of talent, he blamed favoritism instead. He never managed to graduate.

After four years he left the Village Hidden in the Leaves and set on the road again. He appropriated a sword and became a mercenary instead. Even his meager ninja training gave him an edge against other swordsmen for hire and he soon found himself the commander of a small company. And because of his abilities he was able to secure lucrative contracts. For a while things were looking up.

But all too soon he found out that people who wanted some really important job done well hired shinobi. The thought never failed to make him furious. Just what was so wonderful about them? His lads could do their work just as well, yet they never got their hands on any really big money. They were making a decent income, but it was never enough for Heishiro.

He changed his career again. He figured that if people wouldn't pay him money, he'll have to take it instead. He became a highwayman instead. To his great dismay he realized that few people carried large amounts of cash while traveling and those who did brought a lot of skilled guards along.

Another thing he failed to take into consideration was the law enforcement. Soon they were being chased by samurai battalions all around the countryside. He escaped, but too many of his comrades weren't so lucky. But he didn't care. It wasn't like thy had been close friends or something.

He decided to lie low and refrain from crossing the law for a while. What was left of his company alongside with a couple of others was hired to guard an expedition into the Grey Mist Mountains. It was a perfect opportunity to lie low and make some money to boot. The cold and humid climate of the mountains was a bit of a downside, but it was better than the gallows.

And then it happened. One of the prospectors randomly digging into the ground actually dug out gold. Nobody could quite believe their eyes, something about the peak not being the right kind of stone for this, but there was the proof lying in front of their eyes. And there was more of it. The group decided to stay there for longer than planned and eke some more.

Heishiro watched as the pile grew and with it grew his temptation. Soon it became too much to resist. He spoke to his old comrades and some of the new ones. It didn't take long for a plan to form. It was rather simplistic, but he never believed in complicated ones. They tended to backfire. And backfiring plans were one thing Heishiro hated even more than being poor and insignificant.

Unfortunately even the most straightforward of schemes could go wrong, as he soon realized. Someone warned the expedition and they and a few of the new guards were alert and waiting when they attacked. Also some of the prospectors were quite skilled in wielding hammers and pickaxes and were willing to use them to crack skulls instead of rocks. A battle broke out. His group eventually prevailed thanks to their greater numbers and experience, but not before they suffered casualties. And he strongly suspected somebody managed to escape, but he wasn't about to chase them over the steep peaks. The chances of them reaching civilization were low anyway and by the time they could reach the authorities his gang would be long gone. They just gathered what gold they could find and set for a journey to the lowlands.

They went too slow. It irked Heishiro, but he couldn't do much about it. Some of his guys were wounded, one of them even dying. They stopped in the nearest village until they recuperated. It took too long in his opinion. And to top it of his new band couldn't even behave themselves, needlessly showing that they lived on the other side of the law. He was half tempted just to abandon them to their fates, but he would be risking a mutiny. So he stayed, nearly tearing out his hair with impatience, half expecting soldiers to appear at any time. But none did. Yet he didn't allow himself to relax until they were back on the road. And once they entered the city, he was positive they've shaken any potential pursuit.

But as he retied the pouch, his ears picked a noise that didn't belong in the inn. He straightened up and listened, his hand grabbing the handle of his katana. Then it sounded again. Just a dog, he recognized it now. He couldn't believe he got so worked up for some stupid mangy mutt. All this stress must be getting to him. He needed a nice long vacation. Fortunately he could afford it now. He released the hold on his sword.

Then the door opened suddenly and he realized that trouble had found him after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On the street~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Here," Hana pointed at a two-story building. It bore a sign saying 'Blue Swan Inn'.

"Are you sure?" Naruto doubted. It looked too respectable to be full of criminals.

"Of course I am sure," the kunoichi snapped. "What have I told you about Inuzuka noses?"

"I know," the youth threw his hands up defensively, "I just never imagined bandit hideouts like this."

"And how should it look like then?" Hotaru raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know," the boy answered, "This just looks too respectable."

"Appearances are often misleading," Tenzo commented philosophically.

"How are we going to do it?" Hotaru considered. "There are too many civilians to just barge in and it's not like the bandits have it written on their foreheads."

"Have I taught you nothing?" their sensei sighed. "Remember. Lesson number three: if you don't know, gather information."

"So no battle today," Naruto grimaced. "Pity. I just wanted to try out my new jutsu."

"Don't you even think about it," Tenzo chastised him. "You nearly destroyed your own lungs the last time."

"Yes, I have no intention of patching you back together again, if you do," Hana added.

"You're mean," the boy pouted, but didn't press the issue.

"So what exactly is the plan?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A couple of minutes later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo received the covert signals that everybody was on their positions and ready to begin. He stood in front of the door one of Hana's dogs marked as belonging to one of the bandits they believed to be the leader. He signaled for the operation to commence, then opened the door. The man inside had time only to open his mouth before the jounin was upon him. He stunned him by hitting a pressure point before the man could sound alarm.

'Success,' he signaled to his squad. They entered the room, the girls through the door, Naruto through the window. He was chosen to guard it for his ability to remain unnoticed even on a plain wall. Nobody ever figured out how he was doing it, for him it was just instinct.

They eyed the captive now lying tied on the floor.

"Did we really get the right one?" Naruto questioned. "I didn't picture him quite like that from the description."

"You're right," Hana admitted. "I chose the wrong scent to follow, but it certainly is one of the bandits. Look," she pointed at a backpack with the logo of the mining company.

"He can tell us where the others are just as well as anybody else," Tenzo stated and prepared a silencing barrier.

The interrogation didn't take long, the bird had started singing almost as soon as they began. They now had the numbers of the rooms the rest of the band stayed in and most importantly the location of its leader. They went to work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Heishiro's room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Your dinner, sir," the boy carrying the tray announced in the polite impersonal voice of all professional servants. It reminded Heishiro of his humble origins and therefore always pissed him off.

"I haven't ordered any," bandit growled and scowled. And if he remembered correctly, this particular inn didn't cater to guests that way. The child clearly wasn't who he claimed to be. The only question was, what did he want?

Heishiro grabbed his katana again. The impostor servant walked into the room ignoring his dismissal.

"I was told to deliver it here," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Leave. Now," the thief commanded.

"But sir, I…" the brat started setting the tray on the table. Heishiro unsheathed his sword menacingly. The squirt looked completely harmless, but it never hurt to be prepared. That was his credo.

"Didn't you understand? I said leave." He leaned forward and twisted his face into a threatening grimace. The little rat cowered under his glare.

An almost imperceptible hint of movement was the only warning he had. He instinctively jumped away. A small pouch flew through the spot his head had occupied just a moment before and exploded into a cloud of bluish smoke. His eyes darted towards the still open door. A girl was standing there, readying for another throw. Ninja, damn it. Although he held his skills in high regard, he knew he was way out of his league here. He'd have to take a hostage. He went for what he perceived as the easier target.

He lunged at the boy.

Naruto was momentarily startled by the bandit's speed, but instincts honed through countless training sessions kicked in. He smoothly evaded the attack. He realized he was facing common mission mishap number two: a supposedly civilian opponent has basic shinobi training. He sent a silent thanks to his sensei for preparing him for such occasion.

He dove down and punched the leg trying to kick him in the knee. The man was thrown off balance, but he quickly recovered and swung his sword at him.

"Naruto!" Hana yelled from the door and rushed to help him. She needn't have bothered. Naruto was as quick as ever and swiftly slid on the floor between the swordsman's legs, avoiding the danger altogether.

By that time Hana reached the highwayman and slammed into him. He was able to block her slashing claw, but the impact sent him flying backwards, right on top of Naruto.

"Ooooomph," cried the unlucky blond. Nobody paid him any heed, Hana being too busy pummeling the murderer, the man trying to block her hits, mostly unsuccessfully.

After what seemed like a long time they finally rolled off him and he was able to breathe and move again. He jumped to his feet and kicked the bandit's head. The bloke slumped unconscious. Hana paid it no heed, she proceeded beating the living daylight out of him.

"Enough," commanded a strong voice. She punched her victim a couple more times before registering it. She looked behind and noticed the figure of her sensei. When did he come in?

"What was that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"I…" she hesitated. What did just happen? The man had attacked Naruto and then…something inside her had snapped.

"He was attacking Naruto," she said lamely.

"Bah," the boy in question brushed it off. "It wasn't like he could really hit me. I'm better than that."

"I know, it's just that…" 'I can't bear the thought of losing another teammate,' she thought, but couldn't bring herself to say aloud. She felt immensely stupid.

"It doesn't really matter now, but we'll be finishing this conversation," Tenzo promised. "Now let's see whether the racket you made alerted the others."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The following day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It turned out that they needn't have worried. Most of the culprits weren't in the inn anyway, most of them opting to celebrate their successful robbery by blowing away the money in bars, gambling parlors and brothels. They had to stay up all the night up and wait for them, but they captured them all without further incidents. In the morning they handed them over to the local authorities. They weren't equipped for handling that many prisoners.

Tenzo gave them the day off to rest and explore the city. The girls took the opportunity enthusiastically. They didn't need any particular reason for a shopping spree. Chances were the stores here sold a different fashion than in Konoha.

Naruto stayed with Tenzo. There was something he wanted to talk to the older man about, but didn't want anyone to overhear.

"Tenzo," he started in a small voice.

"What is it, Naruto?" the former ANBU was suddenly concerned. His young charge sounded uncharacteristically subdued.

"I have to tell you something I couldn't tell you before."

"About what?" the jounin wondered. A lot of things had happened during the mission and they had already talked about them.

"In the valley, after I fell. I saw it. It spoke to me." He didn't have to clarify. Tenzo immediately knew what he meant. He straightened up.

"What did it have to say?" His mind came up with various theories, most of them either very worrisome or extremely far-fetched.

"Not much," Naruto answered. "Just that I should be grateful to it for everything and that if it really wanted to, it could cause me a lot of trouble."

"Don't worry about it too much," his guardian tried to console him. "The seal should hold it back. I'll have somebody look at you once we get back to Konoha. And for now, I can always suppress it, you know."

"I know," the blond replied, "but…"

"You're still afraid," the Mokuton wielder guessed.

"Yes," the jinchuuriki admitted.

"I understand," the older man said. "I would be too in your place. Just don't let it bother you too much."

"I'll try," the boy promised.

"That's all I ask for," he ruffled Naruto's hair. "Now, go and enjoy the city."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Noon~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jiraiya decided to take a break from his search. He spent a month trying to find out where the missing nin who had attacked team Yagi came from. There wasn't much to start from, but he wasn't just some green kid new in the information business. He was Jiraiya of the Sannin, Konohagakure's spymaster. (And also a super-pervert, but it didn't matter now.) He wasn't to be deterred by such minor drawbacks.

It took him weeks, but he finally came upon a rumor of a place taking in rogue ninja. He couldn't find out anything definite, but he managed to confirm that it really existed. He just couldn't pinpoint its location or who was behind it. He just got the vague feeling that this was going to be big, probably even a new Hidden village in the making. Once there used to be a dime a dozen such villages, wandering clans banding together to improve their chances of survival all the time, but with every major war their number declined, they either joined one of the preexisting powers or ended up obliterated. There hadn't been a new village founded since the Third Great Shinobi war ended.

And now there was another in the making. It put the Toad Sage on edge. It was a daring endeavor and whoever had put it into motion and managed to keep it under wraps, probably for quite some time, had to be good. Very good. There never were many ninja of such caliber. Most of them were either leaders or at least prominent members of well established villages. Those who weren't usually had to leave their homes due to their psychopathic tendencies. Jiraiya didn't want to think of the implications of somebody like them in charge of a large ninja force. Last time it had happened a major war started.

He wanted to just forget all about it. That is why after meeting his contact he went to relax at the local hot springs. There was nothing like an afternoon of research to soothe his troubled mind. He took out his pen and notepad and settled down comfortably next to a hole in the fence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Downtown~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto felt relieved after his talk with Tenzo. He grabbed a couple of hours of sleep and then headed to the city. He rarely wandered the streets of Konoha and never on his own. It was too dangerous, not to mention unpleasant. But here he could walk without fear. Nobody glared at him in the streets, people treated him politely. It felt like a dream.

Soon he became bored with simply strolling around and decided to do something. But what? There wasn't that much entertainment open to eight-year-old boys and those that would admit him were too childish. And Naruto didn't consider himself a child anymore. No, he was now a ninja, no matter that he was probably the youngest and shortest ninja in Konoha. He briefly considered joining his two kunoichi teammates on their shopping trip, but he had heard some horror stories about girls looking for new clothes and decided against it.

He stopped for lunch at a ramen stand, but was disappointed by their products. They had nothing on Ichiraku's. Or maybe he just couldn't enjoy it properly because Ayame and Teuchi weren't there. He soon left and looked through several other streets. Then he came across a place that seemed perfect for spending a relaxing afternoon. He never enjoyed the hot springs in Konoha for the same reason he never spent much time downtown. But here he could spend a whole afternoon soaking in peace. Life, though, had a different plan.

He hadn't been enjoying the warm water for more than half an hour when an angry yell resounded from behind the wall separating the men's and women's part. What was worse, he recognized the voice. It was Hana. His teammate was in trouble. It was everything he needed to know. He rushed to her aid.

Hana wasn't having a good day. First the trouble in the inn, then the threat of her sensei forcing her to talk about painful topics, and now a pervert tried to peep on her when she decided to relax in the spa for a bit. After everything that happened during the last week, she sorely needed a day off. And now some lurking creep tried to take even that from her. He had to pay.

She shouted a battle cry and started after him. The other women quickly caught on. Unfortunately the voyeur was quick on his feet and disappeared into the traffic on the main street. She had half a mind to follow him by his scent, but she didn't want to run around the town clad only in a wet towel. The pervert would surely appreciate that. She returned to the springs. She came onto a most curious sight.

Naruto suddenly realized something. He was clad only in a towel. He was in the women's part of the hot springs. He couldn't see his teammates anywhere. He was alone among many angry females who took notice of him. He was screwed.

Hana could just stare in amazement. There was her shortest teammate surrounded by a bunch of women, looking extremely young and lost.

"Defending your friend like that? That's just too sweet," one of the ladies exclaimed. "Such a brave boy," another added. "Just adorable," the third one cooed. Naruto shivered. Yes, he was indeed doomed.

Jiraiya landed on the roof, perfectly concealed by one of his techniques. The girls were prettiest when they were angry. The rooftop gave him a perfect view. Then he noticed something out of order. Who was there among so many ladies? Was that Naruto? Yes, there were the whisker marks. It was him. But what was he doing here? The self-proclaimed super pervert decided it didn't really matter, as long as the boy was getting lucky. He took out his trusty notepad and started scribbling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Evening~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The squad have returned to their hotel (not the Blue Swan, they weren't welcome there anymore). They mutually decided not to mention the spa disaster to anyone ever again. It took nearly an hour before Naruto managed to escape the clutches of overly affectionate elderly ladies intent on coddling him like a baby. He was sure the experience would haunt his nightmares for years to come.

Before they could go to sleep, Tenzo called Hana aside.

"So, are you ready to talk about yesterday now?" he said. It wasn't a question.

"I guess," she sighed. "It's just… when I saw him swinging his sword at Naruto, it was like I was back there again. I saw Juubei and Tokita and Yagi-sensei and I just saw red. I'm sorry, I know I botched it but… I swore I wouldn't let a teammate die again." She finished her speech and looked into his eyes.

"I understand," he nodded gravely. "Most ninja do. Losing a comrade is always painful, but you must not let it consume you. You had almost no time to grieve which makes it feel still fresh, but you have to overcome it. You don't want to end up like a certain acquaintance of mine, who spends every spare minute staring at the Memorial stone."

"Somebody actually does that?" she raised her eyebrows curiously.

"Yes," Tenzo confirmed. "He's been at it for years."

"I really don't want to end up like him," the Inuzuka shuddered.

"I believe you," her sensei said. "And for now – trust in your team. It's commendable to risk yourself to help your comrades, but you can't do it constantly. They are both capable shinobi and they don't need you holding their hands. It's insulting to them. They can take care of themselves. If you rush to aid one, you leave the other's flank unguarded. It's something you cannot afford in battle. So just trust them to do their job. Understand?"

"Yes," she nodded, "I understand. I just don't know whether I can always abide."

"Nobody knows. Just do you best," he smiled reassuringly.

"I will," she stated solemnly. "I promise."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Several days later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They reported their findings to the mining company. The bosses seemed ecstatic when they heard about the gold, furious when they found out that some witnesses were sitting in a prison somewhere, able to tell somebody about the new lode. The demise of their employees left them only mildly perturbed, if not entirely indifferent. Tenzo had to covertly step on Naruto's foot to prevent him saying anything about that.

Then there came the question of payment. Somebody had the gall to claim that since they weren't able to keep the findings of the expedition secret, they didn't deserve their money. Naruto had to be bodily restrained by his teammates. Assaulting the clients would leave them with no pay for sure. Tenzo calmly stated that their mission directives said nothing about that and if he disagreed, maybe he could discuss it with the Hokage and the man had to grudgingly admit that they fulfilled all stated objectives. They collected their earnings and headed for Konoha. They couldn't wait to get home.

They ran through the familiar forest. The village gates should appear anytime now. There. But, what was that? The team came to a halt. There have never been so much guards standing at the gates, not unless there was a war. Had one broken out? Sure they would have heard something, wouldn't they? Ninja wars did tend to start very suddenly sometimes.

Their elation suddenly gone, they approached the gates at a cautious pace. They showed their identifications and mission scroll to the chuunin on guard.

"What happened here?" Tenzo inquired. "Or is it classified?"

"No, it's not," the man answered. "Something like this cannot be kept under wraps anyway. The Uchiha clan has been massacred."

"What?!"

* * *

Next time: The aftermath and maybe a new mission?


	8. Confusion

**A.N.:**If you are reading this, I thank you for following my story this far. So please read on and review, I would really appreciate more of them. No on with the story.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it again? O.K. So for the sake of morons and lawyers: I don't own Naruto. There. Satisfied?**

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Council chamber~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning after it had happened Sarutobi found himself in the Council chamber again, and once again listening to the enraged shouts of the councilors. It was becoming a disturbingly common occurrence lately.

"We have to launch a search, the culprits can be still nearby," somebody shouted, the Hokage didn't recognize his voice in the racket.

"What can they do against a force that massacred a whole elite ninja clan?" That was the Kurama clan head.

"It must have been the demon, who else." It was Satoru who said it. Who else, indeed.

"Impossible," Inuzuka Tsume stated. "He isn't even in Konoha."

"How do you know?" Satoru demanded. He seemed just about ready to call her the demon's accomplice.

"He's away on a mission. His team left four days ago, packed for a long trip. They haven't returned yet," the Inuzuka matriarch explained.

"And how do you know that? And since when is the demon a shinobi?" Satoru demanded angrily.

"I know because he's on a team with my daughter. And since when – I think around two months ago," Tsume answered.

"And you agreed to it?" Satoru asked incredulously.

"Why shouldn't I?" the dog mistress shrugged. "My daughter wasn't complaining so neither was I."

"Why weren't we informed about the demon becoming a shinobi?" one civilian councilwoman demanded turning to the Sandaime. "Why was it even allowed?"

"I have total command over Konoha's shinobi forces, as you should know," the Hokage stated calmly. "I don't have do share my decisions with anybody. And why was Uzumaki Naruto allowed to become a ninja? He passed the genin test."

"That wasn't what she meant," Satoru snapped. The Hokage had known very well that this wasn't what Satoru meant and ignored it purposefully. "That beast is dangerous. Everybody knows it. And now even more so."

"You must have different information than me," the Professor replied. "I am unaware of any incident involving Uzumaki Naruto attacking anyone. And besides, we gathered here to discuss a completely different matter, namely the massacre of the Uchiha clan."

"That's right," Yamanaka Inoichi said. "Since we determined it couldn't possibly be the work of the Kyuubi, who was it? Are there any clues?"

"Not yet," the Third answered. It wasn't like he could disclose what had really happened. Fortunately he was very skilled in lying and obfuscating. "The evidence points to only a small group of attackers. We have to wait for Uchiha Sasuke to wake and enlighten us."

"That might take too long," Hyuuga Hiashi pointed out.

"I assure we are doing everything in our power to determine the culprits," the Hokage stated. Nobody could tell just how big a lie this was.

"When will you have them?"

"They cannot get away with it!"

"We have to show our strength!"

The room descended into chaos again. Sarutobi sighed. This was going to be a long session. A very long one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At the village gates~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The whole squad was stunned. The Uchiha clan, the strongest, one of the founding clans of Konoha, massacred? Obliterated? It was incomprehensible.

"Who did it?" Hana asked.

"Are there any survivors?" Hotaru inquired at the same time. Shunsui, she thought. Her snotty, arrogant, insufferable, but undeniably skilled teammate. They have never been close, at times she even hated him and his awesome eyes he had been so proud of, but she never wished anything bad happen to him. Please let him be alive.

"There is one," the chuunin answered, "but he's bad off."

"Who?" Hotaru couldn't wait to know, but also dreaded the answer. Please let it be Shunsui.

"Uchiha Sasuke," the man crushed her hopes. Not Shunsui. Not Shunsui. Her annoying haughty teammate, all around pain in the neck, but also her comrade during countless hours of training and several missions, was dead. They parted ways quite some times ago, but still she had trouble coming to terms with the fact he was truly gone.

She barely noticed when Tenzo urged them to report their mission success. She just stood there silently during the debriefing, forgetting to speak when she was asked to clarify something. She was just relieved when they were finally dismissed. She somehow found her way home and locked herself in, not going out for a full day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Inuzuka clan compound~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm home," Hana announced.

"Hi, honey," her mother greeted. "How was your mission? And have you heard what happened here yet?"

"We succeeded and yes, I did," the girl answered.

"Terrible, isn't it," the clan matriarch said.

"It is," her daughter nodded, "though Hotaru seemed to be hit the worst."

"I'm not surprised," Tsume replied. "She used to be on a team with one of them."

"I didn't know that," the girl looked up in surprise.

"You seem to know little about your team," the older woman commented.

"I know," Hana admitted with a tiny sliver of shame. "I just didn't feel like talking to them, and they weren't too open either. I couldn't stand them the first time I saw them, but I eventually got used to them. But we are now becoming a true team."

"That's good to hear," the clan head stated. "I was getting worried for you there."

"At times I was worried too," the girl confessed. "But that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What then?" The clan head raised an eyebrow.

"Something happened during the mission," the young kunoichi started.

"Were you hurt?" the mother worried. "Or did something happen to the Haimaru siblings?"

"No," Hana assured her, "nothing happened to us. It's about Naruto."

Tsume immediately went on alert. Her daughter didn't miss on it. "What is it?"

"We were scouting the mountains, and Naruto fell down a slope," the genin started her story. "It was high and steep and he should have ended up scattered into a thousand tiny pieces, but he survived. He was badly hurt and had to lie in the snow for a whole night, but he pulled through. He suffered multiple fractures and internal damage, but he was able to walk after only two days and another two and he was completely healthy. When I asked about it, they said it was something like a bloodline, but I've never heard of anything like it. And Naruto seemed skittish, like he was concealing something. And that's not all." She took a deep breath. "When he was falling, I felt something. I couldn't recognize it, but it felt sinister and powerful. It disappeared just as suddenly as it appeared. I'm sure I've felt it somewhere before, but I can't remember."

The older woman stayed silent for a while, carefully considering her next words. "I'm afraid I can't give you an explanation. The only one who can speak about it is Naruto."

"But he isn't willing to do so," Hana replied. "And it isn't the only strange thing about him. He possesses a nearly endless well of energy, it took a full day of running at top speed to make him tired. And there is the matter of the way most of the villagers look at him. Like he committed something terrible. I've heard some rumors, but they sound far-fetched. He's just a child, he couldn't have possibly done some of those things. Sure he can be annoying, but no more than Kiba. Nothing about it makes any sense." She finished her tirade with a questioning look at the other woman.

"I understand that you're confused, but I cannot give you any explanation," her mother shook her head. "You'll have to ask him or find an answer yourself. But be prepared for an answer you won't like."

"What do you mean?" the girl inquired with surprise.

"I can't tell you," Tsume replied.

"I understand," Hana said. She felt more confused and intrigued than ever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Everything appears to be in order," the Professor concluded his examination. It took a long time, but he was being exceptionally thorough. It just wouldn't do to rush something like this. "The seal is working as it is supposed to."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Tenzo said.

"So everything is okay?" the jinchuuriki half asked fastening his shirt.

"Yes, Naruto, everything is alright," the old village leader smiled reassuringly. "You may go now. Tenzo, stay. I have to speak to you about something."

"Sure. Bye," Naruto called running through the door. He slammed it behind him and then he was gone.

The former ANBU stood calmly and waited for his superior to begin.

"As you know," Sarutobi started, "the village has recently suffered a huge blow both to our strength and our reputation, but we cannot afford to appear weak. We should show the prowess of our youngest generation. The Chuunin Exams start in Kusa in a little over a month. Is your team capable of competing? They don't have to succeed, just put on a good show."

"Hokage-sama, I'm afraid I cannot allow them to enter now," the jounin-sensei answered sadly. "If you have read the last mission report, you would know that they are still unready, all of them prone to acting rash. Naruto is just too young, inexperienced and hotheaded, Hana is still hurting from the loss of her old team and Hotaru just suffered a blow and I don't know how she would deal. If I entered them now, chances are they would get slaughtered. I believe that they would be eligible for the next term, but not just now."

"I understand," the elderly man nodded. "In half a year then."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Memorial stone~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotaru didn't visit the Memorial Stone often, but she could immediately see the difference. So many names had been added since she last saw it. The Memorial Stone was meant for shinobi killed in the line of duty, but defending themselves from an unknown attacker was considered the line of duty. So the names of all Uchiha shinobi adorned the Stone now.

She knelt down next to the memorial and began reading. There were so many she didn't know and others she knew only in passing. She couldn't even assign the names to most of the faces. It took her a while to find her teammate's name near the bottom. She traced her fingers along the symbols. _Uchiha Shunsui. _He had been a talented shinobi, just like most of his clansmen, and though he wasn't exceptional, he had a bright career before him. And now he was just another name on the stone. He won't do any more missions, won't make jounin, won't sneer at her again... well, there was a reason she hadn't liked him when he had been still alive. But no matter his faults, he didn't deserve this.

She stood there for a while, she couldn't tell how long, and just stared at the name. Then a rustle of leaves brought her out of her reverie. She saw a man in the standard shinobi uniform land near the stone and kneel down next to her. Well, there had to be more people that had friends in the Uchiha clan. In fact, it was a bit odd that there weren't more mourners. Maybe they were too busy looking for the culprits. Or maybe they weren't dwelling on the dead and dealt with the living instead. And maybe she should be doing the same. She had a new team now. She might not like it too much, but it was her life now.

She turned around and left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the team disbanded after their training in the evening, Hana joined Hotaru on her way home. The purple-haired kunoichi wanted just to be left alone and pointedly ignored her companion, but the brunette wasn't deterred so easily.

"I heard one of them was your former teammate," she started. Hotaru just nodded. She didn't want anybody poking their nose in it and hoped the Inuzuka would get the hint. But she wasn't so lucky. "I know it hurts, but don't let the pain get to you."

"And just what do you know?" the sword wielder snapped.

"I lost my old team too," the Inuzuka explained. "It happened on a mission. I was scouting ahead and they were attacked from behind. I spent a long time just wondering if I could help them had I been with them. I'm still not over it, but I'm trying."

"And you're telling me this just why?" Hotaru barely looked at her. She really didn't want to talk abut it, but the dog mistress was persistent.

"So you can avoid it. Believe me, wavering in pain and guilt will bring you only trouble. I want to help you. That's what teammates are for, isn't it?"

"I guess it is." They haven't really solved anything, but both girls felt like they would eventually.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The team resumed their training routine. They went back to D-ranks, spars and elemental training. Naruto got it down first, Hana and Hotaru were still struggling. The boy then proceeded to perfect his original jutsu. Tenzo wasn't happy about it, but Naruto decided to use Shadow Clones in training to avoid hurting himself. It took a long time before he stopped popping them.

The mock missions stepped up in difficulty. They took an extra focus on the possible negative results of reckless behavior, as well as facing unknown opponents. Tenzo was frantically trying to prepare them for the next chuunin exams, scheduled to take place in Suna.

They completed another C-rank mission, a simple escort of a caravan to the capital and back again. Nothing out of ordinary happened there. Naruto was bored, the girls were thankful.

Then came the time for another interesting mission assignment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mission room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This will probably be harder than what you have done so far," the Hokage started. Tenzo stiffened. In his experience it never bode well. "There have been reports of children gone missing near the northern border. It has been going on for quite some time. The local authorities had no luck investigating. They eventually asked for our assistance."

"If I may inquire," the sensei dared, "why us? Shouldn't a more experienced team be deployed?"

"It would usually be the case, but you have an important asset," Sarutobi explained. "You have the youngest shinobi currently in Konoha." Figures.

Naruto paled a little. 'I'm bait,' he realized. It made him uncomfortable, but also gave him a sense of responsibility. He hadn't really done anything on the last mission, not that anything happened there, and the first one – let's not even go there. He still felt embarrassed every time he remembered it. But this was going to be his show. Despite his initial fear, he was looking forward to this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On the road~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They left the Leaf village at dawn. For some reason or other that was traditionally considered to be the best time to start a mission. They covered the ground quickly. They expected to arrive at their destination sometime the day after tomorrow.

"How are we going to go about this?" Naruto asked. "We might just try to follow the tracks, but we might have trouble finding them. It's been days since the last kid disappeared and we don't know, when and where will it happen again. Are we going to set up bait?"

"I wouldn't rush it," Tenzo decided. "We start with investigating the crime scenes. We might get lucky and find a clue. Using bait is only a last resort."

"Okay," Naruto nodded half relieved, half dejected.

"But in case we have to try it anyway, how long do you think you can hold your transformation?" The jounin wanted to know.

"I've never thought about it," the boy scratched his head. "Long, I guess several days, then I'll have to reapply."

"Good enough," Tenzo nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near the border~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived at the small town of Ugo. It was a rather unimportant stop on the trading route between Fire Country and Rice Field Country. Few merchants came through here, most of them preferring the main road to the Lightning Country further southeast. Only after harvest carts loaded with rice traveled on the dirt road. The rest of the year it had barely any visitors.

The squad entered the settlement early in the afternoon. The sun shined brightly on the hot summer day, forcing most citizens to spend the time inside, protected from the oppressive heat. Only a couple of people noticed their arrival, but their curious glances promised that whole Ugo would learn about it shortly. Tenzo didn't like announcing their presence like that, but he had to speak with the local official and he doubted the man could keep a secret.

They knocked on his door and waited for his response. Then they knocked again. When nothing happened, they just opened the door and found the man taking his afternoon nap on a sofa. Tenzo sighed and shook him awake. It took some effort, but eventually the officer opened bleary eyes. When he saw strangers in his office, he startled.

They showed him their mission scroll and explained why they were there. Then they asked for his assistance.

First they went through the missing person reports. They haven't learned much more than they already knew. It turned out that most of the victims were orphaned street children who nobody missed. They disappearances had been barely noticed. Then the son of a prominent craftsman disappeared. The consensus was that he had ran away. The boy held dreams of becoming a ninja and often spoke about going to Konoha. Their missions scroll stated he never arrived, but a lot of things could have happened to him on the road. It wouldn't be suspicious in itself, but several others followed over time. All of them had some delusion of grandeur and decided to follow it. Neither of them were seen or heard from again. As isolated incidents they could be easily written off, but their frequency was indeed worrisome.

"Where do we start?" Hotaru mused. "The trails are cold and the parents already told all they knew to the local authorities."

"We'll speak to them anyway," Tenzo decided. "It sounds like there's someone recruiting the kids. They might have noticed something."

"Recruiting them?" Naruto blinked.

"Why do you think so?" Hotaru questioned.

"Most of them either wanted more from life or had low living standards," the jounin explained. "If somebody promised them better life, they'd jump at the opportunity. Understood?" Three nods answered him. "Then let's go question the parents."

It turned out that the parents didn't know anything more. The team spent the rest of the afternoon listening to distraught mothers and fathers pleading for them to return their children, but they haven't gathered any new information. They settled in the only decent inn in Ugo to discuss their options. There weren't many of them. They could still try posing as civilians, but that might take ages.

"We have to talk to somebody who knew the missing children," Naruto stated.

"And just what had we been doing the whole afternoon, you genius?" Hana snapped.

"Talking to their parents," the blond replied.

"Then what else do you want?" The Inuzuka shot him a look usually reserved for slow children.

"Speak to their friends," the boy explained. "They might know something their parents don't. Also what about the street kids? Some of their peers might have an idea. If there really is someone recruiting, he must have spoken to more children then only the missing ones. Also is there an orphanage in the town? Our somebody couldn't miss that out."

"That makes sense," Hotaru admitted, "but it still might not be enough. How can we make sure they would talk to us?"

"There's an old trick to it," their sensei joined the conversation. "Make them feel like you understand."

"So how do we do it?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The following day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The orphanage reminded Naruto of old times, before he met Tenzo. He couldn't help but compare the two institutions. This one was smaller and more run down than the one in Konoha, but the children running around the garden and observing the visitors seemed the same. Even the elderly matron could be sister of the one he used to know.

The squad commander went to speak with the proprietor, leaving his three students standing outside the door. The foxy boy tried to get in with him, but the jounin-sensei stopped him.

"Stay here," he ordered, "and don't botch it like usual, if it's not too complicated order for you to follow." Then he closed the door, leaving the dejected genin standing in the hallway.

"Why do we have to stay here?" Naruto complained.

"Shut up, Tiny," Hana chided.

"It's boring," the youngest of the three genin continued. "Why can't we do real ninja work?"

"We are. We are following orders, so quit your whining, it's annoying," the Inuzuka chastised.

"You're mean," the little blond pouted. "Why are you always so mean to me?"

"Because you get on my nerves," she replied with a glare.

"Why does everyone say that?" The yellow-haired youth looked downtrodden and annoyed.

"Do I really have to answer this?" the dog mistress growled. "Just shut up and get lost, you twit." Her dogs bared their teeth.

"Always the same," the jinchuuriki grumbled, but got up and wandered around the courtyard. He kicked a couple of stones angrily. "I'm a ninja, just like them. Why can't they treat me like one? Do you hear?!"

Hana heard and threw a stone. Naruto barely dodged. "Bitch," he shouted before running around the corner. There he sat down, hugging his knees. He hid his face and started sobbing.

Soon a child approached him.

"Are you sad?" the newcomer asked.

"What gave it away?" the shinobi replied sarcastically. He wiped his eyes and looked at the speaker. It was a boy, probably a year or two younger than him. He had a round face framed by shoulder-length dark hair and big eyes.

"You were crying," the younger orphan stated.

"I wasn't." Naruto protested. The stranger raised an eyebrow. "Maybe a little," the blond admitted grudgingly.

"They are nasty to you, aren't they?" he stated. "I know what is it like."

Naruto said nothing, just watched him questioningly.

"What's your name? I'm Daito," the stranger introduced himself.

"I'm Naruto," the Konoha genin replied.

"Can we be friends, if just for a while?" the dark eyed child offered.

"I'd like that," the Uzumaki agreed.

"That's great," the other boy smiled. "It's been lonely here lately."

"Why?" the young ninja inquired.

"My best friend left," Daito explained.

"I'm sorry," Naruto apologized.

"Don't be," Daito replied. "He has it better now."

"How do you know?" The young demon vessel wondered.

"Somebody took him in," the dark-haired orphan answered. "It was a really good one. He said Taira had real potential."

"He got lucky then," Naruto said sadly looking to the ground.

"And you are not?" The local boy raised an eyebrow. "You are a ninja after all."

"Yeah, I am." The blond sounded defeated.

"Aren't you lucky to be getting stronger?" Daito scrunched his brow in confusion.

"I would be," the Konoha shinobi grimaced.

"What do you mean?" the Ugo native looked at him questioningly.

"Well, you saw my team," Naruto replied.

"Yes," he nodded understandingly. "But surely they aren't always that bad?"

"Sometimes they're worse," the youth replied with a sigh. "Sensei thinks I'm just some snotty idiot who passed the genin test by accident."

"But at least you have someone," Daito said sympathetically.

"I wish I had." Naruto never looked so dejected and lonesome before.

At the moment Tenzo left the matron's office.

"Team, we're going," he ordered. "Where did Naruto wander off again? Once he'll get lost and I'll be in trouble for it."

"You heard him," the genin in question said. "I'd better be going."

"Can you come back?" The local inquired hopefully.

"I'll try," the blond promised before joining his team.

"Here you are. Just try not to get lost again," Tenzo chastised. The squad headed out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The inn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I've gathered that a lot of kids had been adopted lately," Tenzo informed his underlings. "What about you?"

"I might have a clue," Naruto smiled. "The plan seems to be working."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto found time to visit Daito again. The team split up to look after clues individually. While the others were searching the town, the blond headed straight to the orphanage. It didn't take him long to locate the dark-haired boy. They relaxed together, playing silly children games, chitchatting about this and that. Eventually Daito asked what Naruto's squad was doing there.

"That's a secret," the blond replied trying to put on an air of importance.

"Really?" the other boy inquired.

"Really," the genin confirmed, but he looked like he actually yearned to tell.

"Come on," the younger child prodded. "I won't tell anyone."

"I don't know." Naruto looked hesitant.

"I can keep a secret, I promise." Eagerness shone in Daito's dark eyes.

"I still don't know." The blond was now refusing just for show.

"Don't be so uptight," the local orphan didn't relent. "We are friends, aren't we?"

"I guess so," the young shinobi admitted. "Okay, I'll tell you. But you must never ever tell anyone. It's a great secret, understand?"

"I understand," the wide-eyed child nodded. "I won't tell a word, I swear."

"Well, then listen." Naruto leaned closer conspiratorially. "We came here to investigate a big case."

"A big case?" Daito looked at him with admiration.

"Yes," the blond nodded dramatically, relishing in his importance. "Lots and lots of disappearances. People are getting panicked here."

"Really? I haven't noticed anything," Daito replied skeptically.

"That's because you're out of the loop," Naruto explained.

"No, I don't mean that," the younger lad clarified. "I haven't noticed anyone panicking."

"Really?" Naruto asked bewildered. "But we heard it differently."

"Then you must have heard it wrong," Daito said with absolute assurance. "And nobody disappeared as well."

"What?" the blue-eyed boy asked with an expression of total non-comprehension.

"They haven't disappeared," the local child explained. "They left for a better life, but adults wouldn't understand."

"You know something about it," the Konoha genin inquired eagerly. "If I can tell it to sensei, than he'll have to admit I'm good."

"Would he really?" the younger boy doubted.

"Well… of course," Naruto said with a false smile.

"You don't really believe that," Daito stated.

"Well, you're right," the blond deflated. "He'll always have me for an incompetent fool, no matter what I do."

"You wish for a better one," the dark-haired youth said sympathetically.

"Yes," the young ninja admitted.

"Maybe I could help," Daito offered.

"You?" Naruto looked doubtful. "Don't get offended, but what can you possibly do?"

"Do you remember my friend Taira? I told you about him yesterday." Naruto nodded. "He wants to be a ninja too. He found somebody who was looking for talents. I'm sure he would help you too."

"Really? But, I don't know," the Leaf ninja was unconvinced. "I can't just go and leave. That's treason."

"Like you owe them anything," Daito scoffed. "Don't they constantly put you down?"

"Well, yes, but they're still my comrades," Naruto explained. "I cannot just abandon them."

"Don't they think they can do better without you anyway?" Daito pointed out.

"They do, but still…"

"You know what," Daito said. "There is a man living not too far from here. He's the contact I have with Taira. Let's go visit him and then you can decide."

"Okay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Outskirts of Ugo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daito had led him to an unassuming little house near the edge of the woods. It was situated in the middle of a wildly growing garden, half-hidden from view by fruit trees.

"Here it is," the local child announced. He opened the garden door and entered, Naruto followed him. The dark haired boy knocked on the door.

"Enter," a voice sounded from inside. They came in. The hall was just as unremarkable as the exterior. A plain middle-aged man came to greet them.

"Hello, Daito," he welcomed them. "Who is your friend?"

"This is Naruto," the younger boy introduced him proudly. "He wants to ask about your offer."

"What?" the man freaked out. "You brought one of them here? Are you insane?"

"But Naruto…" Daito started his explanation.

"Was having you on, you incompetent idiot," the owner of the house interrupted. "And you lead them straight to us."

The child looked terrified.

"Then we simply kill them all," a new voice stated. Naruto whirled around and froze. The young man who had just appeared moved like a skilled ninja. It didn't look good for him.

* * *

Another evil cliffhanger no jutsu. !

Next time: Who is the mysterious ninja? And how will Naruto handle him?


	9. Misranked!

**A.N.:** I've corrected the kodachi/nodachi mistake back in Chapter 3. I thank everyone who reads my story attentively enough to notice it. so please read, enjoy and review, because there can never be too many of them.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I don't know how many more times I'd have to repeat it.**

* * *

The strange white haired ninja in a long shirt moved slowly closer. Naruto had hoped he'd never encounter common mission mishap number 6: a superior shinobi where there shouldn't be any. He went through his list of options. Fighting was out of the question, he was outnumbered and his opponent appeared to be out of his league. The same went for running. He was trapped inside a house and he doubted he could outrun the older man anyway. That left only trying to talk his way out of it.

"Wait, that's a misunderstanding," he lifted his arms in a defensive gesture. "I didn't lead anybody here, I really wanted to hear about your offer. My team is nasty to me and…"

"You lie," the enemy shinobi simply stated. "You implicated us, so you all have to be eliminated." He lifted his arm and struck the closest target. Daito fell to the ground without a sound. He couldn't comprehend why he wasn't being praised for recruiting a real ninja. The owner of the house soon followed. He simply couldn't believe what was happening. They both sported identical expressions of stunned disbelief on their faces.

By that time Naruto had his sword out and charged with wind chakra. He slashed at the still approaching man. The pale shinobi dodged the blade, but a red line still appeared on his clothes. He looked at it as if not comprehending how it happened. Naruto couldn't resist a small smirk. That heavy smoking jounin who once told him that few people expect a blade of wind was obviously right. He had forgone further gloating and pressed his attack.

This time his enemy was prepared. He avoided Naruto's attack widely and caught the small blond's wrists in his hand. He squeezed hard, causing the genin to drop his weapon, and yanked him of the ground.

Naruto suddenly came face to face with his annoyed adversary. He didn't even thing about his next course of action. He screamed.

The stream of Wind chakra hit the pale stranger right in the face. He dropped his captive with an ear-piercing shriek and covered his head with his arms. Naruto dove for his ninjato, intent on finishing the job.

Before he could make two steps his downed opponent moved. Naruto rushed in, but something struck him in the stomach and threw him into the wall. He struggled to catch his breath.

The stranger rose to his feet. Blood was covering his face and shoulders, but he didn't appear to be wounded. Naruto could swear he saw a strange pattern dancing over his skin, but it soon disappeared.

"It seems I'll have to take you seriously after all," the man stated. Naruto's response was another Slicing Scream, this time with more power behind it. In the enclosed area it had a devastating effect. The walls cracked. Dust was blown into the air and obscured both combatants' vision. A rumbling could barely be heard over the howling of the wind.

Then the roof fell. Naruto barely had the time to throw his arms overhead, before a couple of wooden planks slammed into him. He should be very thankful for whoever had built such a shoddy house, but he had no time to think about such matters. The ninja shaking dust from his hair was a more pressing concern. He quickly put his hands into a cross-like sign and summoned a bunch of Shadow Clones and sent them to attack. He didn't wait for the result of their charge. He turned on his heel and ran for his life.

He never liked turning his back on a battle, but he wasn't a fan of dying either. And there was a huge chance he'll die here, if he cannot escape. He was heading into the town, hoping that the stranger wouldn't want to fight in front of so many witnesses, but he wouldn't put too much money on that. His best chance of survival was in finding his team, namely Tenzo. Too bad they weren't following him closely, but nobody had expected the fish to take the bait so early in the game.

The memories of dispersed clones reached him. That was quick. They haven't bought him more than ten seconds. At least they were able to tell him something about his opponent's abilities. He was fast and precise in his attacks and used some blades protruding from his sleeves. They seemed odd to him, but there was no time to ponder over it. He created another batch of clones and sent them to cover his back.

The clones quickly moved into formation and prepared to fire their most powerful jutsu at the same time. The enemy appeared around the corner.

Fuuton: Great breakthrough, Fuuton: Slicing blast and Katon: Endan sailed towards the approaching man. Naruto was barely able to perform his only Fire technique, but the flames were fanned by the Wind techniques into formidable size and temperature. The stranger had just enough time to look surprised before the flames enveloped him.

Unfortunately the techniques couldn't rage for long. Naruto still didn't have sufficient control over them and the blast ended up hitting some of his own creators. The firestorm died down.

The few doppelgangers who survived were treated to the sight of their opponents encased in some kind of grayish protective cocoon. 'This didn't work?' The thought ran through all their minds immediately followed by 'we're screwed.' They prepared for another attack.

The stranger's cocoon slowly started retreating into his body. 'What in the world is that?' the clones wondered.

"I see that you are intrigued by my ability," the white haired man said slowly making his way toward them. "You see, I can control my bones. I can make them grow at will and withdraw them from any part of my body." To prove his words he pulled one from his upper arm. It had the shape of a short sword. The clones watched in fascination as the gnawing wound on his shoulder closed.

The enemy shinobi walked yet closer. One of the replicas shook off his stupor and charged at him. His ninjato was easily blocked.

"Did I mention that I can control the density of my bones as well? This is harder than steel," the pale ninja continued his monolog. The clone attacked again and once again he was easily blocked. But he forced the enemy to turn his attention away from his fellow doppelgangers.

In the absence of a better plan they tried another combo ninjutsu attack. Their target however noticed it coming and jumped out of the way. One of his arms was signed, but he didn't sustain any considerable damage. He simply seemed pissed. Bone spikes sprouted from his arm joints, then he disappeared in a blur. The clones were quickly dispersed.

The bone user stood and looked around. He only now noticed that the original wasn't there. He retracted the bones into his body, then gave pursuit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Downtown Ugo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was running like his life depended on it. Correction, his life actually depended on it. He had created another bunch of Shadow Clones and had them spread out. He had to locate his team quickly or he would be done for. So far he had no luck.

He threw a glance over his shoulder. Nothing. He could just hope that it meant his enemy was pursuing one of his doppelgangers or even gave up altogether, not that he was about to spring from behind the nearest corner and cut him into a thousand little pieces before he could say oops.

A rush of memories suddenly assaulted him. One of his clones had been struck down. Where was it? Far enough, but his enemy was fast. He could find him soon. Naruto had thought he couldn't run faster, but he somehow managed.

He felt another clone dispersing. Where was Tenzo? He noticed a gray body. One of Hana's dogs! He changed his course, then realized it was just some random street mutt that didn't even look much like an Inuzuka ninja dog. He suppressed the urge to scream in frustration, he had to spare his breath. Two more of his clones met their end. Then he realized something. There was a flash of purple before the last clone dispersed. Hotaru!

He didn't waste even a fraction of a second considering what he should do. It didn't matter anymore that the enemy was stronger. His teammate was in danger. He headed towards them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Hotaru~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She had little warning. One moment she was just walking the street looking for anything significant for their mission, the next there was her young teammate running at top speed. Then another ninja appeared and cut him down with a strange looking blade. She unsheathed her own. Naruto dispersed into smoke. A Shadow Clone, she recognized. Next came the realization that she was now facing alone against an obviously superior shinobi. A string of curses ran through her mind. She was in a bad situation.

What few people were out in the street started running away. She was suddenly alone with only her sword between herself and the enemy. The kodachi in her hands suddenly looked utterly insignificant.

She was reminded of her Chuunin Exams match. Something was telling her that this duel will probably end in just as swift and brutal manner. Unless it would be even swifter and more brutal. Her breath caught in her throat. She had trained so hard, improved so much, yet it seemed like it was all for nothing. She felt utterly defeated and the battle hadn't even started.

She shook her head. She had to get a grip of herself. Such thoughts would only get her killed. She assumed her beginning stance.

The enemy shinobi strode towards her at a leisurely pace. It just strengthened her belief that she was outclassed here. But she was determined not to go down without a fight. She adjusted her grip on the handle. The stranger walked closer. She didn't dare to attack him, but she feared that if she let him have the first strike, she wouldn't be able to block it.

The decision was taken from her. A flash of movement and she instinctively moved. The odd whitish weapon slid along her blade. Her leg shot out, connecting with her opponent's flank. He didn't even flinch, but her foot felt like she just kicked a hard rock. She jumped back and disengaged. He turned towards her and moved in for an attack.

She dodged by a hair's breadth. She stabbed with her sword but hit only thin air. A blow struck her side and threw her into a nearby flower yard. She scrambled to her legs. Strangely enough her opponent allowed her to do so. Yet another sign how he disregarded her skill. She felt insulted even though it meant she would get to live a while longer.

She hated being underestimated, even when it was deserved. She charged her sword with chakra, trying to turn it into her Lightning element. She partially succeeded. She let out a battle cry and charged.

Desperation lent her strength. With a burst of speed she managed to reach her opponent before he could think about dodging. He just blocked with his forearm. The lightning made him jerk, but her blade barely broke his skin. It was even worse than she had thought.

Another fist to her ribs brought her out of her musings. She once again found herself in the flowers. This time she had no time to get back up. Her enemy was upon her, his blade poised to strike. Her own sword was lying discarded in the dirt. She could just close her eyes and wait for the blow to come.

It never did. She heard a crack followed by a thud. She opened her eyes hesitantly. The pale man was sprawled on the ground. A few feet away was Naruto just getting to his feet, one hand reaching for his ninjato. She had a brief flashback to their team test and Naruto saving her from the wooden figurine. She had never felt so relieved to see him.

Naruto was functioning on pure adrenaline. When he saw the pale man just about to kill Hotaru, he just tackled him. He was lucky and managed to blindside the pale man, but now he was going to need all his skills and cunning to pull through. And it might still not be enough.

"It seems I won't have to search the town for you after all," the enemy ninja said. "It's just convenient for me."

The blond didn't bother to answer, instead just pushed chakra to his blade. Then he charged with his ninjato, supporting it with a Slicing Scream. The white-haired shinobi moved away, but he lost one of his long sleeves. Then Naruto had to dodge a strike to his back.

Hotaru used the brief respite to form handseals. Raiton: Lightning blast. A bolt of electricity launched from her hand. The target avoided it.

Naruto let out another Slicing Scream. The white-haired ninja was a bit off-balance from his teammate's attack and he managed to hit. Red lines appeared all over the gray-clad man's body, but unfortunately none of the gashes were more than skin deep.

The blond boy created a bunch of Shadow Clones. His opponent just scowled at them. White spikes grew from his hands.

Half of the clones transformed into perfect copies of the purple-haired kunoichi. They started running around and mingling together. The original grabbed Hotaru's hand and tried to get away in the confusion.

"I won't fall for the same trick twice," the enemy shinobi stated calmly, methodically destroying the doppelgangers. It took him even less time than the last time. The two would-be escapees had barely time to round the corner.

They skidded to an abrupt halt when the stranger appeared in front of them, his bone blades at the ready.

"Now it's time to end the game," he declared, "I'm getting bored of it."

Before he could make his words reality, grey furry tornado attacked him. He jumped to avoid the Tsuuga when another two closed in on him. He twisted his body in the air to prevent a direct hit when a fourth one slammed into him.

"Hana!" Naruto exclaimed relieved.

The pale ninja crashed into a nearby house. The four whirlwinds stopped revealing the Inuzuka girl and her three canine partners.

"In trouble again, Tiny?" she said.

"Quit your joking, he's good," the youngest teammate informed her. As if to prove his words, the downed ninja got up, his injuries gone, his skin covered in strange geometrical pattern.

"What's that?" the dog mistress asked, her eyes widening.

"Not a clue," Naruto shouted.

"It seems like I will have to take you seriously after all," the enemy said. Bone blades sprouted from every joint.

"Time to step it up," Hana decided. "Let's see how he'll handle this. Inuzuka style: Soutou Rou!" Chakra swirled around her and one of her dogs. The opponent tried to prevent her completing the jutsu, but both Naruto and Hotaru jumped in front of him, their swords charged with their elemental chakra.

Hana's jutsu was finished. In her place now stood a huge double headed wolf. The pale ninja's eyes widened in surprise.

"Garouga!" snarled the beast and turned into a furry tornado. It charged forward at much greater speed than the Tsuuga had. He had no time to dodge, he could only brace himself for the impact. The attack slammed him into the house, shattering the walls and coming through on the other side. The two remaining dogs ran to aid their mistress. Naruto and Hotaru followed.

Hana and her dog separated and got to their feet. They looked at their opponent and gasped. Where they had fully expected a mangled corpse, was instead a living monster. They couldn't describe it any other way. It somewhat resembled the ninja they had been facing, but it had brown skin, sinister yellow eyes and bone spikes protruding from its back. There was even a long spiky tail.

"What the hell?" Hana stammered. She summed up the thoughts of the entire team quite nicely.

Than the monster rose to its feet and the team took a step back like one man (and two women). The abomination reached behind its back and pulled something out. It looked like some kind of chain whip. They mutually decided not to think about what it actually was.

"What now?" Hotaru whispered. They all had already fired their strongest attacks and that thing didn't seem to be even wounded.

"Buy time," Naruto suggested. As he saw it, their best chance was still to wait until their sensei arrived and hope that their adversary wasn't stronger than the jounin. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if that wasn't the case.

The monstrosity readied his whip for an attack. Naruto let out another Slicing Scream. It barely had any effect. The brown thing just continued its charge. The three genin scattered. They weren't fast enough. The whip caught Hotaru in the side. Blood sprayed out. The kunoichi fell to her knees and screamed.

Hana saw another teammate being cut down by an enemy. She let out a battle cry and prepared to charge. Naruto beat her to it. He shot forward and slammed into the enemy. The thing actually stumbled back, unprepared for such a vicious assault. The boy pressed his advantage. He struck the now brown-skinned man in the face. It felt like punching a rock, but he paid it no heed.

A familiar red heat was rising inside him. Usually it would scare him, but now he welcomed it, along with the power accompanying it. That abomination in front of him had hurt his teammate. It had to pay.

The strange ninja got over his surprise and threw the feral boy off him. Naruto just flipped in the air and landed on his feet. He charged again, all finesse forgotten. He attacked with his bare fists, intent on inflicting a lot of harm. A voice in the back of his mind cheered him on.

The monster counterattacked. The blond boy evaded the dangerously sharp spikes without really thinking about it. He just knew they were there even though he could see only about a half of them. He punched his enemy again. He noticed that his fingernails changed into claws, but he wasn't surprised. Somehow it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Another of his strikes was blocked by a shield of bones. Naruto snarled in anger. He put more chakra into his fist. It was enveloped in a red glow. The strange ninja's eyes widened for a split second. But he was an experienced fighter and reacted on instinct. He threw the now red-eyed boy off him before the hit could connect. The jinchuuriki bared his teeth in rage.

The two kunoichi were staring in amazement and fear at the battle taking place in front of them. First the strange pale ninja turned into some brown monstrosity, then their young teammate was enveloped in a sinister red aura, his appearance changing like if he used the Inuzuka Beast imitation. He also improved in both strength and speed. They both itched to aid their comrade, but the enemy left no openings.

The creature with bone spikes swung its whip to Naruto. The genin ducked low, then tried to claw the thing's stomach. He was swiped away by his opponent's left arm. He jumped high and tried to get in a kick. The whip headed for him and he barely got his forearms up in time to prevent a hit to his face. His trajectory was changed and he landed on the street. He rolled to avoid a kick, but a bone suddenly sprouted from the monster's ankle and caught him in the shoulder. He howled in pain.

He swiped at his enemy, but he was too far to hit. But the red chakra enveloping him formed a claw extending further than his arms reach and connected with the enemy's stomach. Four deep gashes appeared in the brown skin and red blood flowed out.

The monstrous shinobi looked at them in surprise, as if he had trouble believing what had just happened to him. But soon his face hardened. Then it melted into surprise again, as he was hit by a Tsuuga from behind. Hana noticed his moment of distraction and capitalized on it.

The spiked monster fell, but he sported only a flesh wound. He swung his grayish claw at the dog mistress. It was too fast to dodge. The Inuzuka could just lift her arm in an attempt to block.

Before the hit could land, Naruto rejoined the fray. He grabbed the spiked arm, halting its descent towards Hana. His shoulder still hurt, but he could already feel the muscle mending. The chakra surrounding him burned the brown skin.

The enemy struck with a speed unseen before. The blond barely had the time to move before the whitish spikes pierced his side. He avoided a lethal hit, but the wound was serious nevertheless. He would have roared, but his ribs hurt too much for that. He struck the offending appendage instead, intent on ripping it off the unnatural body.

The red chakra around his hand intensified, gaining the jagged edges of Wind element. His swipe connected with the elbow. There was a sickening snap. He didn't manage to sever the arm, but the sinew and bones were mangled. He yanked the now useless limb from his chest. He tried to attack again, but his body was instead wracked by sickening cough. Blood flew from his mouth.

A crack of lightning resounded. Hotaru saw her opening and swung her sword at the damaged elbow. The chakra-laced blade cut deep. The appendage now hung only on a thin patch of skin.

The monstrous ninja screamed in rage and disbelief. Then he exploded in a flurry of motion. The threesome suddenly found themselves on the receiving end of a veritable storm of whip strikes. Hotaru was thrown backwards with a deep gash across her ribs. Hana was flung into the wall of a nearby house by a vicious kick to her stomach. One of her dogs was lying on the ground whining, having been hit by the spiked tail. Naruto tried to attack, but a heavy hit forced him back to his knees.

Then the whip was stopped by a tree suddenly sprouting from the ground. Before the brown warrior could blink in surprise, a sword hit the back of his neck. His ultra-dense bones stopped the hit, but he was thrown off balance. Before he could regain it, he was bound by rapidly growing tree branches. He barely had the time to create a bone shield before a stab pierced his skin. He immediately started growing blades to cut down the tree, but new branches quickly replaced those he managed to cut. It was a struggle of endurance.

But it was four people and three dogs against one. While he was preoccupied with Tenzo, Naruto scrambled to his feet and grabbed his sword. The red haze was now gone from his mind and he could think clearly once again. He held his blade in a one-handed grip, his left shoulder not being completely healed yet, and charged it with Wind chakra. His injuries were bothering him, but he was able to move, though with difficulty. He swung with all his might.

The blade cut deep, the sharp Wind chakra cutting even through the reinforced material of the bone-wielder's spine. With the spinal cord severed, his legs sagged bonelessly.

Naruto sunk to the ground as well. His strength left him with the Kyuubi's chakra. He barely had the energy left to crawl away from the battle zone.

The spiked monstrosity opened its mouth in disbelief of what had just occurred. It was unthinkable that somebody would actually be able to cut through his bone armor in his Second stage. But it wasn't a tragedy, his accelerated healing would take care of his severed spine soon. But for the moment he couldn't mve his lower body and his enemies saw it. The Mokuton user wasn't one to let such opportunity pass unexploited. The point of his katana was aimed precisely. The tip entered between the parted lips and pierced through the palate. The bone wielder had reinforced all the bones near the surface of his body, but forgot about those on the inside. The blade entered his brain. Even his regeneration wasn't able to deal with that.

The Konoha shinobi watched in amazement as the beast started changing again. First the skin lost its brown color, a strange pattern appearing instead. Then even that slowly receded, revealing the surprised pale face of the young ninja. Only the bone appendages remained still attached to the corpse being held upright by the tree.

The squad just watched in silence, clutching their wounds, not quite believing that the nightmarish battle was really over. Tenzo cut the throat of the defeated ninja for good measure. The stranger didn't even twitch, no geyser of blood flowed from his jugular. He was indeed dead.

"What the hell was that?" Hana summarized the thoughts of all squad members.

"I don't know," their sensei replied. "Can you tell me what lead to this? But first take care of your wounds." Hana nodded, realizing she was the team's medic, and went to work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana sagged with tiredness. She had patched the team up the best she could and was proud to declare that nobody would die of their wounds. Unfortunately they were in no shape to continue the mission.

"I wouldn't have allowed you to continue anyway," the former ANBU said. "We already encountered an A-rank enemy and he didn't seem like the boss."

Naruto couldn't decide between feeling disappointed and relieved. On one hand he didn't want to abandon a mission that so far had been mainly his show, on the other he really didn't want to face such a monster again. He would never admit it, but he was secretly glad for the order to retreat.

The townspeople dared to come out of their hiding holes after the street was quiet for long enough. The owner of the destroyed house was in tears, demanding compensation for his demolished dwelling. The three genin tried to blame it on the dead ninja, but it did them little good. It seemed like they would have to pay for it anyway. Then the mayor appeared and wanted to know what had happened. They gave him a brief report.

"I didn't call you here to ruin my town," the official lamented.

"We didn't come here to fight an A-ranked opponent," Tenzo countered. "Such things sometimes happen."

"I hope you'll at least solve the mystery," he said.

"Rest assured that Konoha will do everything to find out where did he come from," the Mokuton wielder pointed to the corpse still supported by the trees.

"I'll hold you to your word," the mayor promised.

"I know," the jounin confirmed. "We'll now go and bring reinforcements."

The three genin breathed a collective sigh of relief. They couldn't wait to leave Ugo behind.

* * *

That's it for now.

Next time: Some long-overdue conversation and a beginning of a new arc.

Because I've run into a writing block on the next chapter, it might take a while before it appears. But I'm prewriting the next arc, so once I conquer the next chapter, more should appear soon after.


	10. Explanations

**A.N.:** Ladies and gentlemen and everybody else who still follows my story, here I go with my next chapter. I intended to get it out sooner, but it took quite some time to tear down a minor writers block. More chapters are prepared to be published soon.

To Truth and Dan: If you want to send negative reviews, please sign them. I would answer you with a PM. I'll answer publicly once more, but I don't intend to do it every time.

1) Naruto being to much like canon Naruto. I think I changed his personality enough. I wasn't trying to recreate canon, I just wanted the main character to be Naruto and not some stranger who looks like him.

2) One-dimensional original characters. I thought I avoided writing Mary Sues, but you're entitled to your opinion.

3) Hate misranked missions. The first one they were on wasn't misranked. The next won't be either.

4) Boring. If you dislike it that much, why did you read it? Though judging from your review, you probably didn't.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I haven't repeated it for two weeks, so I might have gotten out of practice. So here we go: I don't own Naruto. Yay, I repeated it correctly.**

* * *

"I think its time for some explanations," Hana declared when they settled for the night. It was a long journey back to Konoha. Their injuries prevented them from running and even walking caused them a lot of pain. They haven't moved so slowly before unless they were escorting a caravan.

Naruto visibly shrunk under his teammate's gaze. His side was hurting badly, even his enhanced healing couldn't take care of that much damage in such a short time.

"I understand that everyone has their own secrets," continued the Inuzuka, "but there should also be trust between teammates."

The young blond just stared desperately at the ground, wishing a solution of this situation miraculously appeared there. But alas, nothing happened. The ground stayed just as it was, brown, muddy and covered in dried leaves.

Seeing his discomfort, the girl mellowed. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, just remember, you can always trust your teammates."

"I know," answered the boy weakly, but didn't add anything else.

"You know what," the kunoichi sighed, when her youngest teammate stayed stubbornly silent, "you don't have to tell me now. I'll be listening whenever you are ready."

"Thank you," Naruto whispered.

"You're welcome," the dog mistress replied. Outward she appeared calm, but inside her curiosity was churning. Just what was her teammate's secret? That red chakra seemed now more familiar than ever, but she still couldn't pinpoint, where she had encountered it before. Well, she just had to wait. She sighed. Patience was never her forte.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back in Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The squad felt immensely relieved, when they came within sight of the gates of Konoha. Tenzo sent the three genin to the hospital, and went on to give a report.

The Sandaime looked gravely when he finished. "Are you positive about that?"

"Not really," the former ANBU replied, "but it's the only thing it remotely resembled. It can of course be something else, but it just reminded me of what I saw of Mitarashi's Curse Seal."

"I see," the Hokage nodded solemnly. "And you couldn't bring the body back?"

"Unfortunately no," the Wood user answered. "All the genin were wounded and neither of us is a fuuinjutsu expert. We tried to seal it into a scroll, but we botched something and damaged the body instead. We brought the scroll, but I doubt anybody would be able to get anything out of it."

"We have to try anyway," the elderly village leader decided. "If you are correct, it would probably cause a lot of trouble for us. You are dismissed now."

Tenzo bowed and left the room. Only after the door closed after him, allowed the Hokage the worry he felt to show on his face. He stuffed his pipe with tobacco and lit it with a bit of Fire chakra. He sorely needed its comfort right now. The dots were beginning to connect. If there really was a new shinobi village in the making and if Orochimaru was behind it, things could turn very ugly anytime. He'll have to send Jiraiya to investigate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha hospital~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was declared healthy almost as soon as the doctor looked at him. It didn't surprise him. His injuries have completely healed during the second day of their trip back. He wanted to make sure his teammates were alright, but the nurses wouldn't allow him, claiming they were still in surgery. This worried the boy a bit, but he tried to convince himself it was just the hospital staff being mean to him and not the two kunoichi being hurt that badly. They managed to walk all the way from Ugo to Konoha after all.

Having nothing to do, he decided to go eat some ramen. It never failed to improve his mood. It worked its magic even today as well. After the second bowl he was already chatting happily with Teuchi and Ayame.

Feeling much better after the food, he wandered to the tree hideout. There was still a lot on his mind, but now he could think about it with a more positive outlook.

He had used the Kyuubi's power in front of his teammates. He could make up some excuse, but it would only work for so long. Especially Hana seemed to be catching on it. Sooner or later, he'll have to come clean. He wanted to believe that his teammates would understand, but he could never shake the icy feeling of fear that they might abandon him or hate him like most of the villagers. He decided it would be better if he told them before they found out from someone else, but his courage left him every time he thought about doing so. He resolved to do something about it, just not right now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Somewhere in Rice Field Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jiraiya was sitting at the bar, drinking and ogling the young ladies, pretending to be interested solely in their assets. In fact he was keeping an ear on every snippet of conversation going on around him. He had hoped to learn some new information here, but so far he had no luck. People around him were chatting only about inconsequential little things, just like in the last establishment and the one before that.

He had been deeply rattled when he had first heard about little Naruto's fight against the Kaguya with the Curse Seal. He didn't even want to think about what could have happened had his team not intervened. He was half mad at his sensei for assigning the child such a dangerous mission, but he understood that such things sometimes happened and it was upon people like him to make sure they didn't occur too often. The old guilt came back again. If he just could have done something about Orochimaru, if he could have prevented his friend from leaving, if he managed to keep better track on his traitorous teammate… the list went on and on. The Snake Sannin was somewhere out there, gathering powerful subordinates, conducting who-knows-how sick experiments and he was powerless to do anything about it. Heck, he didn't even have a clue where to find him.

He waved at the pretty barmaid to pour him another cup of sake. Wallowing in guilt never accomplished anything. He leaned against the bar comfortably, straining his ears to catch every bit of gossip. Maybe tonight he would get lucky and learn what that snake was up to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Two weeks later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Both girls were finally released from the hospital, but couldn't resume their training in earnest yet. Naruto decided it was as good time as any to come out with the truth. He was still anxious, scratch it, downright scared, about their possible reactions, but he couldn't keep pretending much longer. They would find out sooner or later anyway and it would be better if it was from him. So one sunny afternoon they all gathered on their regular training grounds, all of them waiting to hear what the youngest teammember had to say.

"Um, I don't know where to start," Naruto said nervously.

"Try the beginning," Hana suggested.

"Yes, um… crap this is hard!" He had prepared a whole speech beforehand, but suddenly couldn't bring himself to actually recite it.

"We have whole afternoon," Hotaru remarked. "There's no need to rush. If you need more time…"

"No, that's fine," the blond refused. "I have to say it now or I'll never gather the courage again."

"Naruto is actually scared of something," the Inuzuka raised an eyebrow. "That must be a first." The boy just scowled at her.

"Don't make fun of him, Hana," Tenzo chastised her. "It's hard enough as it is."

"OK, I'm quiet now," she backed off. "So what is it?"

Naruto took a deep breath and started speaking.

Hana listened to his tale in silence. Yes, everything about the enigmatic boy suddenly made sense. The first time he mentioned the Kyuubi something in her head clicked. She remembered where she had encountered the oppressive chakra she had felt in the Grey Mist Mountains and later when they were fighting the bone monster before. She had been barely five years old when the Nine-tailed demon attacked, but it was an event that had engraved itself deep into her mind before she managed to bury it within the deepest recesses of her memory. Now everything was coming back to the forefront.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Eight years ago~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Momma! Momma!" the five-year old girl with red triangle marks on her cheeks cried. She was desperately running around her clan's compound, searching for her parents. She didn't even try to deny she was scared, even though big Inuzuka girls should be brave. There was a feeling of dread and doom in the air and the night sky on the horizon was tinted red, like a great fire was burning there. Her clansmen were running back and forth, gathering their battle gear. The big and usually so strong and confident hounds were covering in corners and whining. It was a scene of utter chaos.

"Momma! There are you," cried the girl relieved upon seeing her mother. Tsume was standing among a large group of Inuzuka ninja giving them some last minute orders.

"Hana! What are you doing here?" The older woman looked afraid. The child paused. She had never seen her mother like that. She was always the embodiment of strength to her. "You should go to the shelters!"

"But I want to stay with you!" Hana put on a show of bravado she didn't quite feel.

"You can't, pup," her mother answered. "We're going to fight."

"I can fight too," she proudly declared. She had gotten a set of practice kunai for her last birthday and could now hit a tree from twenty steps away. "I'm a big girl now!"

"Honey," Tsume knelt in front of her, "listen to me. This isn't a battle you can fight. But I'll give you a mission. Okay?" The girl nodded enthusiastically. The woman smiled. "Protect your brother, Hana. He's just a baby. Take him to the shelters. Understand?"

"Yes," she confirmed.

"Good girl," her mother ruffled her hair. "Remember I will always love you. And now go." With those words Tsume got up and returned to the group of shinobi she had been commanding. Hana headed back inside the compound and picked baby Kiba from his crib. He was heavy, but she was a strong Inuzuka and could handle his weight. She left the clan compound and ran to the streets towards the Hokage monument where the shelters were. Everywhere around here were people rushing back and forth, civilians panicking, ninja heading for battle. She could have smelled their fear even if she hadn't been an Inuzuka. Her mother's parting words kept replaying in her head. 'Mommy doesn't expect to come back.' That thought scared her more than anything in her young life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back in the present~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana guessed they had been lucky. Both her parents had come back that day, wounded and exhausted, but alive. Many other hadn't been so fortunate. She couldn't remember the exact number of clansmen who had died that day, but she knew there were many. And others came back crippled, they up to this day wobbled around the compound on wooden legs or had to do everything with just one hand. Yes, the destruction had been terrible. Hearing that the monster responsible was still around was just plain scary. Yet she couldn't reconcile the image of the fearsome Beast with her young, sometimes funny, sometimes annoying teammate. Only during the battle in Ugo…

Hotaru was also remembering. She hadn't been in Konoha when it happened, her parents had taken her on a trip to visit their relatives scattered around the Fire Country, but she had seen the resulting destruction and heard a lot of tales. She couldn't even fathom what kind of power the demon held. Hearing that it was sealed within the kid beside her was just surreal.

"I don't think I fully get it yet," she said.

"Yes, wrapping my mind around it is quite hard," Hana agreed.

"You aren't going to hate me then?" Naruto peeped hopefully.

"I don't know what to say," Hotaru replied. "Ask me in a weak or so." She got up and left.

Hana remained sitting. Naruto watched her anxiously waiting for her to speak. The girl was meanwhile lost in thoughts. The fear of the Demon, the hate she held towards the one who hurt her clan so badly and pack instincts and protectiveness over her teammate along with budding friendship were waging war inside her heart. It promised to be a long and drawn out battle.

"I think," she said when the silence lasted for too long, "I'll take a page from Hotaru's book and take some time to think it over. It was quite a bombshell you just dropped."

"But… you aren't going to hate me, are you?" the boy demanded with his impossibly wide blue eyes. She sighed. Even an Inuzuka wasn't completely immune against the dreaded Puppy Dog Eyes, no matter how much practice she had resisting them.

"No, brat, I'm not going to hate you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later that week~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a tense couple of days since Naruto's confession. The team started meeting again, not for physical training, the two kunoichi still needed more time to recuperate, but for planning and strategy sessions. Those were awkward occasions. There was something that everybody both wanted to speak of and desired to avoid. It was looming over them, yet they were desperately trying to ignore its presence. Hotaru was the first one to address the issue.

"What is it like?" she asked.

"What?" Naruto turned startled blue eyes towards her.

"I asked what is it like to have that thing inside you," she elaborated. "Or is it an insensitive question?"

"No, not at all," he shook his head. "Most of the time it's quiet, I don't even know about it. Sometimes, when I'm in danger or angry, I can feel its power."

"And what is that like?" Hotaru inquired further.

"Hot and burning," he replied. "And scary."

"No kidding," the purple-haired girl muttered.

"Do you fear me?" the blond asked.

"No," she answered. "Looking at you, you're just a little shrimp."

"Hey!" Naruto protested.

"I'm still scared of the power within you," she continued, "but as long as you don't use it in front of me, it should be fine."

"That's good," the boy smiled for the first time in a week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Several weeks later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took a long time before the wounded members of team Tenzo were declared fit for duty. They quickly slipped into their old routine of training and D-ranks. Their sensei also informed them that they were eligible for the next Chuunin Exams in Suna and started preparing them for prolonged stay in the desert. Everybody was excited about it, but they couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive. Suna Exams tended to be tough. They knew the main problem would be water. Naruto took extra lessons with Kanou, trying to figure out a way to store large reserves of the liquid in an easily accessible way.

They also decided to test their newly acquired skills with another C-rank mission.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tanzaku Gai~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Protecting Lady Mao was the worst assignment they've ever got. Seriously. Even when they had to fight the bone freak, it hadn't been that bad. That woman insisted that she didn't need protection, nobody would want to harm her and they really didn't need to stick so close to her. She used every possible opportunity to give them a slip, but the noses of Haimaru siblings couldn't be fooled, even though she made a valiant attempt to destroy their sense of smell with her perfume. All three genin had catastrophic scenarios running through their minds. The mock missions equipped them with a vast knowledge of what could possibly go wrong with such client. Any passerby might be an assassin who would pluck a poisoned senbon into her without them noticing. A kunai might come flying from anywhere piercing her richly decorated neck. A roof tile might fall on her head. She might run under a speeding cart while trying to ditch them. She might fall out a window attempting to give them a slip. The list went on and on. Even when they had to 'guard' Anko during their training, it wasn't quite like this. All three genin wished something happened to break the torturous routine.

"Why are we even escorting her?" Naruto whispered. "It's not like anyone would miss that shrew."

"We're getting paid for it," Hotaru whispered back. They were alone with the client now. Tenzo and Hana were resting, scheduled to take the evening shift.

"Not nearly enough," the blond retorted. "Why do we have to be here when she doesn't want us to?"

"Her husband hired us," the purple-haired girl reminded him.

"I still don't understand why. In my humble opinion he would be better off without her." It wasn't that Lady Mao was an unattractive woman, quite the contrary, but she possessed a shrill voice and mean demeanor, quickly antagonizing everybody within her vicinity. Team Tenzo started hating her after she dubbed them the Brat, the Bitch and the Wench within five minutes of meeting each other. She only solidified the feeling after she ordered 'the Bitch' to keep her fleabags away from her. The Inuzuka foursome had to be forcibly restrained from biting her.

"Maybe he wants to make sure she can't meet her lover," the Uzuki suggested.

"You mean somebody would actually want to spent time with her even when he doesn't have to?" Naruto looked at her dubiously.

"Men are weird," Hotaru shrugged.

"Hey, I'm a man too," Naruto reminded her offended.

"You're just a little brat," the older girl replied.

"Lady Mao is rubbing off on you," the short blond commented.

"No, you're just annoying me," the kunoichi corrected.

"I'm not that bad, am I?" Naruto pouted.

"Do I really have to answer that?"

Their conversation was halted by their charge's next attempt at giving them a slip. They both had to hurry to keep up with her before she could disappear in the midday crowd. The high-born woman gave them an evil eye before pretending she was just interested in something at the nearest stall. Naruto personally had no idea what she could find so fascinating about gardening tools. Somebody with such long fingernails couldn't have possibly touched work in her whole life. Lady Mao seemed to realize that as well and in a slow and dignified manner moved to the next stall, that one selling vegetables. She wasn't the kind of woman to cook for herself either, so she moved even further on. She passed several more vendors before she noticed a door that seemed to be of interest for her. She entered without hesitation.

The casino was full of life inside, though not as busy as the streets outside. It was obviously a high-class establishment and Lady Mao fit there perfectly. They couldn't say the same for themselves, they clothes being made more for practical use than looking good. They just tried to look tough instead, though it was an uneasy task, being just short of nine and thirteen respectively.

The noblewoman passed between the tables with various games-of-chance before settling down to one that caught her fancy. Or maybe it was just the handsome bookmaker who caught her fancy, judging from the way she batted her eyelashes at him. She started gambling and loosing money steadily. It was no wonder, she didn't pay much attention to the game. It changed when her money reserves thinned and she demanded they would help her and spy on the other's players cards. They flat out refused. Naruto claimed it wasn't in their contract. The real reason was he wouldn't do anything Lady Mao asked from him because she pissed him off too much. She then offered to pay them for it. Hotaru pointed out that the casino had people watching out for cheaters and they would get caught.

"Some kind of ninja you are," the woman scoffed. "Just stupid brats playing at being tough." Naruto wished somebody tried to assassinate the lady that moment, so he could show her just how tough he was. Or maybe he wouldn't, one failed mission wasn't too bad if it meant he would never have to see that person again.

"The people watching the casino would be ninja too," Hotaru explained, "and specialists at detecting cheaters. It just pays off for the owners to hire the best. You don't want to know what they do to the culprits," she trailed off with a well executed shudder. If Mao paled at the words, it was impossible to tell under all that make-up. "But if you want your money back," the kunoichi continued, "over there is a lady who seems to be losing even worse than you are." Lady Mao shot her an offended glare, but looked the pointed way. Surely there was a beautiful young woman with long blond hair and chest of impossible proportions scowling at the ever dwindling pile of chips in front of her. The other patrons around the table were trembling with barely restrained excitement. They looked like it was a given the woman would lose. Lady Mao stood up and walked there. She wanted to sit at the table, but all the seats were taken and long queues formed behind them.

"Let me in there," Lady Mao said in a commanding tone trying to push to the table.

"Get back, lady, I was here first," one of the patrons said in a no-nonsense tone.

"How rude," the noblewoman scowled. "Don't you know who I am?"

"No," the man answered flatly, turning his attention back to the game.

"I let you know, I am…"

"Lady," he interrupted her, "even if you were the Daimyo's wife, I wouldn't let you pass. So now please get back in the line…"

"You… you…" Lady Mao probably turned red, but the make-up hid that as well. "Boy," she turned to Naruto, "remove this person from my way." The man's eyes widened.

"That's not in my contract," the blond answered flatly. It was hard to hide his mirth, but he managed.

"Impudent whelp, you do as I say!" Her beautiful face was twisted in rage.

"It is not in my contract," he repeated.

"Listen, brat, the money is important, so you'd better…"

"Excuse me, lady, but could you please tone your argument down?" A new voice entered the conversation.

"And you are?" Mao scowled at the newcomer. It was a young, pretty, black-haired woman in dark clothing.

"I am Shizune," she introduced herself. "My lady told me to ask you to quiet down, she cannot concentrate on the game."

"And I care why?" Lady Mao was angry and she wanted everybody to feel it.

"My mistress possesses both short temper and very strong fists," the dark-haired woman explained. "She has no problem using them when somebody angers her greatly."

"I don't care. I have bodyguards." Their client for the first time looked absolutely assured of their competence.

"A genin team, I see," Shizune observed. "They would do you no good against Tsunade-sama."

"Tsunade as in The Tsunade?" Naruto's eyes widened in impossible size. His eyes strayed towards the woman currently betting most of her remaining chips.

"Yes, that's her," the young woman confirmed.

"Wow," he exclaimed.

"You make it sound like she was a big deal," Lady Mao scoffed.

"You mean you never heard about Tsunade?" Hotaru asked incredulously.

"No and don't be rude, Wench." Hotaru gritted her teeth. Shizune shot her a sympathetic look.

"Do you think we can talk to her?" Naruto asked.

"I advise against it," the dark-haired woman said. "She doesn't want to see anybody from Konoha."

"Too bad," the boy grimaced. "It's not every day you meet a legend."

"You don't know what is it like meeting her everyday," Shizune laughed. "I don't even know your name, boy. And how are things back in Konoha?"

"I am Uzumaki Naruto and this is Uzuki Hotaru. Konoha is still standing, beside that, I'm probably not supposed to tell."

"Fair enough," Tsunade's assistant laughed. "I'm pleased to meet you too."

"Don't be chatting with strangers when you are supposed to be protecting me," Lady Mao interrupted. She was angry that Hotaru foiled her attempt to slip away while Naruto was preoccupied.

"Yes. Lady Mao," he uttered.

"We're leaving, Brat," the noblewoman ordered.

"We're leaving, Shizune," Tsunade entered the conversation. She had just lost the last of her chips and nobody around wanted to loan her more. She gave the Konoha shinobi an unfriendly glare. Naruto wanted to say something to her, but the look in her amber eyes stopped him.

"Sorry, guys, I have to go," the apprentice smiled apologetically.

"We too," Naruto said following Lady Mao.

"Can we meet again?" he called.

"That depends on my lady," Shizune answered. Then the crowd separated them.

They didn't get to see each other again, not for a long time to come. Tsunade and her assistant had skipped town during the night, whether she was running from debt collectors or bad memories was unknown to everyone but her. Team Tenzo endured one more week of torture under Lady Mao before finally returning to Konoha to their training and preparations for the Exams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Before the Exams~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day before they were supposed to leave finally came. Everybody was at home packing their things, thinking about the upcoming event.

Hotaru was alone in her home. Her cousin was away on a mission. Last time they had talked Yuugao had warned her about the dangers, but she wasn't overly concerned about it. She had entered a Chuunin Exam before and even though she didn't fare too well, she learned how the Exams were done and she was sure she could take them with no trouble at all now she had gotten so much better. Really, it was going to be a breeze. Or that was what she was trying to convince herself. Sometimes her left forearm still hurt.

Naruto and Tenzo were in their apartment going over the things they might need. First on their list of must-haves was water. Tenzo stressed the importance of good hydration in the arid climate of Wind Country almost everyday and Naruto had spent many evenings with Kanou trying to find the best way to store large quantities of it in an easily accessible manner. They had consulted many scrolls before they came up with a seal that could release water gradually, the only disadvantage was that the supply of liquid stored was limited. It was still better than bottles. Naruto had one backpack filled with sealing scrolls of that kind. The boy was excited, eager to try his strength against the best other villages had to offer.

Tenzo himself didn't share the sentiment. He still wasn't convinced his team was ready, but Hokage's orders were Hokage's orders and there was nothing he could do about them. He had prepared his team the best he could and now he had to trust them to handle themselves. Hopefully they would survive in one piece. Suna exams were rumored to be extra tough.

Hana was in her clan's compound trying to get her things in order with her little brother constantly getting underfoot.

"Hey, sis, what is that for?" Kiba asked holding the object in question in his hands.

"Put it down," Hana shouted. "That's my stash of ointments. If you break it, I'm going to skin you alive."

"Okay," the boy said laying the box down carefully. "Nothing happened, see?"

"I see," the older girl nodded. "That's your only luck. Next time don't even touch my things."

"So you are going to be chuunin, sis?" he asked.

"If we do well, then yes," she answered.

"Is all your team going?" he wanted to know.

"Of course," she nodded. "Only complete squads may participate."

"So even that little one is going?" the young Inuzuka inquired.

"Yes," his older sister confirmed.

"That's not fair," he complained. "How comes he's going to be chuunin when I'm still at the Academy?"

"That's because he is training and studying so much," she explained. "What about you, Kiba? Are you training and studying enough?"

"Of course!" He sounded offended.

"Really?" She raised her eyebrow.

"Really," he nodded. "You know me, sis."

"It's because I know you, little brother," she said with a stern face. "I've heard quite a different story from your Academy instructor."

"Aw, come on, sis," Kiba made a grimace. "Iruka-sensei is just so boring."

"And you think life is full of excitement?" The younger Inuzuka's face betrayed that yes, that was indeed exactly what he thought. "That is not so. There is a lot of hard work. If you want, come to watch us in the finals and see how good you need to get." 'Have I really said this?' Hana startled. 'Now we'll have to get to the finals or I'll never hear the end of it.'

"Okay, sis, I'll come," he smiled. "I bet there would be no-one as awesome as me!"

"Hah, you wish," smirked the older girl. "And could you now leave me alone? I'd like to finish packing sometime before midnight."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Gates of Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The teams leaving for Suna gathered near the village gates. Fifteen Konoha teams were trying their luck at the Chuunin selection Exams in the Hidden Sand Village. Everybody was eyeing the competition, searching for familiar faces.

"And who do we have here," a mean voice sounded near them. Hana sighed and closed her eyes. That was one person she hoped to avoid, but it seemed she was out of luck. She slowly turned around.

"And good day to you too, Tokiko," she said. There she was standing, the sister of her deceased teammate, looking too much like Tokita. Only the expression in her grey eyes was different. Instead of Tokita's usual serious or amused expression, her stormy orbs held only anger and hatred. The Inuzuka couldn't really fault her. She was blaming herself for his death even now.

"So you think you can make chuunin now," the newcomer asked, poison dripping from her voice. "And who did you find as your new team? A little squirt and a seduction specialist? They won't save your neck in your fight."

"Who are you and why are you insulting Hana?" Naruto asked hotly.

"None of your business, brat," Tokiko replied. "I'm talking to the bitch."

"Don't call my teammate a bitch," the blond's eyes narrowed.

"Or what?" she asked teasingly. "Are you going to hit me? Don't make me laugh."

"I promise you won't be laughing when I'm through with you."

"Naruto that's enough," Hana snapped.

"But she's insulting you," the boy protested.

"I can defend myself," she reminded him.

"Then why are you not?" He pointed out.

"None of your business," she snapped.

"Aren't teammates supposed to trust each other?"

"You're the one to talk," she barked. The young jinchuuriki recoiled as if struck. "Sorry, Naruto, I didn't mean it," she apologized, but the damage was already done.

"You know, boy," Tokiko rejoined the discussion, "I pity you for having that poor excuse of a kunoichi as your teammate." The blond didn't answer.

"Here, you are, Tokiko," a new voice sounded. It came from a young genin in a grey coat.

"What do you want, Noriaki," the girl in question asked in not too friendly tone.

"Oboro-sensei wants the team together before we leave," he answered.

"I'm coming." She turned back to Team Tenzo. "Don't think this is over," she said before disappearing in the crowd. Noriaki shot them a sympathetic glance and followed his teammate.

* * *

The end for now.

A.N.: A few typos corrected. Please review! The release of next chapter depends on it.

Next time: Sunagakure


	11. Sand

**A.N.:**For everybody who asked so nicely, here comes the beginning of the next arc. Please read and review.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: Because practice makes perfect, I repeat it again: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Tokiko decided to make the trip as uncomfortable for Hana as possible. She jibed and taunted the Inuzuka on every opportunity. Hana's patience was wearing thin. Fortunately Oboro-sensei, an elderly woman who could have been long retired as a shinobi, but loved teaching genin too much, kept a tight watch on her so she didn't get to do it too often. She even threatened the girl with withdrawing her from the exams if she wouldn't control herself. That worked and she didn't bother them anymore.

They crossed the fields and meadows of River Country and entered the arid plains of Wind Country. The vegetation around them was thinning and thinning until it disappeared entirely. The endless dune sea took their collective breath away the first time they saw it.

The trek through the desert felt far longer than it really was. The heat was beating down on the team mercilessly. Hotaru was the worst of. She had recently changed her outfit, her old kimono gone, replaced by something that must have been inspired by Anko. She now wore a mesh bodysuit covering her from mid thighs to mid upper arms, her modesty being guarded only by a short dark purple top with a hood flowing freely on her back and a matching miniskirt with slits on both sides. The ensemble was completed by mesh guards of her elbows and knees and fingerless leather gloves. It offered very little protection against the sun, sand and hot winds. Tenzo finally took pity on her and lent her an off-white traveling cloak. The girl accepted it gratefully.

Otherwise nothing noteworthy happened during the trip. Finally on the fifth day of their trip they reached the entrance to the Hidden Sand.

Looking at the narrow canyon, Naruto was unimpressed. Compared to the elegant gates of Konoha, this looked simple and run down. But when they emerged on the other side, he stopped in amazement. He never saw so many huge buildings together.

"Close your mouth before sand gets into your throat, Tiny," Hana advised, but even she was impressed.

"If you're finished, we should settle into the hotel," the jounin interrupted. "And have you already forgotten what I have told you about proper behavior while visiting other shinobi villages?"

"No, sensei," the Inuzuka answered.

"Then abide by it," he ordered them. The team resumed their pace. The local inhabitants were shooting glances at them, some curious, others cold, some even hateful. Naruto wanted to ask about it, but decided to wait until they were alone.

Then one of the onlookers caught his eyes. It was a young boy of maybe his age, maybe a bit older. He was standing alone on a busy street, the passersby giving him a wide berth. Sand was swirling around him in directions defying the wind. His face was completely impassive, marked with a tattoo on his forehead, his dark-rimmed eyes were watching them from under red bangs with a strange expression. Naruto saw something in their depth, something disturbing and familiar. Before he could name it, his team moved forward and he lost sight of the strange boy. But there had been a feeling of… understanding? Acknowledgement? Kinship even? He couldn't quite name it. But he was certain that he would be seeing the redhead again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hotel~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They settled into their assigned room. It was large and comfortable, though sparsely furnished. They didn't mind, they didn't bring many possessions with them.

"At least this room is nice," Hotaru commented, "because the locals surely aren't."

"I barely noticed," Naruto replied.

"Their glares were quite obvious to me," Hana commented.

"It's a matter of getting used to it," the jinchuuriki shrugged.

"Sorry," the Inuzuka apologized. "What's up with the locals anyway?"

"It's not as much the villagers as their Daimyo, who isn't alright," Tenzo explained. "He cut the military expenses and Suna is suffering from it. They lost quite a lot of business to Konoha over the years. It's no wonder they're bitter about it."

"I think I've heard about it before," the Inuzuka clan heiress remarked. "I didn't pay much attention to it then."

"What does it meant to us?" the purple-haired girl inquired. "Should we worry about them throwing stones at us?"

"No," the jounin answered. "We are guests of the village. They guaranteed our safety. If they harmed us, they'd lose face and it would cost them even more lost business. Expect them to be rude and unhelpful, but not much more."

"Good," the blond said. "I really wanted to explore here."

"You might, but better not wander off alone," their sensei replied. "You never know what might happen and this is an unknown territory for you."

"That's okay," Hotaru shrugged. "I wanted to explore as well. I wonder what fashion they have in Sand," she added dreamily.

"I want to take a look around too," Hana added. "It always pays of to know your surroundings."

"Then go and enjoy yourselves. Just don't stay up too late. Tomorrow early morning we're training."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Streets of Sunagakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto strolled through the streets of Suna alone. They had first gone out as a team, but the girls soon took off on a shopping spree and he quickly lost interest. He now wandered aimlessly, admired the huge hive-like buildings, ignored the villagers' cold stares and thought about the earlier encounter. The boy he saw just after they entered the village was occupying the forefront of his mind. He wasn't sure how, but he was certain he recognized a kindred spirit in him. He wanted to meet him again, talk to him properly, but he had no idea where to find him. He had even no idea what his name was. He considered simply asking for a while, but decided against it. If the citizens here were anything like Konoha, they wouldn't be overly eager to help.

He was almost ready to give up for the day when he nearly ran into him. For a moment they just stood there, eyeing each other curiously.

"Hello," Naruto broke the silence first. The other boy didn't answer. He just stood there motionlessly, sand swirling around him, the look in his eyes making the Konoha genin nervous. "I saw you earlier today and I thought…" the blond trailed of under the redhead's unflinching gaze. He never saw such eyes before. They were so empty and lifeless, yet there was something hiding in their depths, something Naruto couldn't quite name. Was it pain? Loneliness? Want? Something completely different? He couldn't tell. He decided to try another approach.

"I'm Naruto, what's your name?"

"Gaara," the other boy answered. Somehow it almost caused the foxy boy to jump.

"Well, pleased to meet you, Gaara," he tried to put on his best smile. It was giving him a lot of trouble today.

The native youth didn't answer, nor a single muscle moved in his face, only the sand around him swirled faster. Two Suna citizens walked around the corner and upon seeing them they disappeared where did they come from. It was making Naruto very nervous, but he wasn't ready to give up yet.

"I noticed how everybody was avoiding you," he said. "I know that. I thought that maybe we could be friends."

"Friends," the freaky child echoed in a strange tone before clutching his head in obvious pain. Naruto looked at him concernedly, his earlier fear forgotten.

"What happened," he fussed. "Can I help?"

Gaara didn't answer. Instead he whispered something Naruto didn't catch over the rustle of the whirling sand. Its speed was steadily increasing.

"What did you say?" the Leaf genin inquired. "Does it hurt? Should I take you to a doctor? I don't know where to find them here."

"Mother," the redhead whispered. Naruto looked around. He couldn't see any woman anywhere. In fact they were completely alone.

"Do you want your mother?"

The local boy stopped clutching his head and looked at him. His eyes changed. Instead of whatever it was that filled them before, they were now completely crazy. Naruto involuntarily took a step back.

"What's up with you?" he asked alarmed.

"I'm going to kill you," Gaara said like he was talking about weather. "Mother wants your blood."

"Eh?" Naruto had no idea what was up with the redhead, but he could tell things were about to get ugly. He felt something stirring within himself, he could hear the faintest whisperings telling about blood, death and destruction. He forcibly pushed them from his consciousness. The sand was now gathering between them, reminding the blond of a predator about to strike. He readied for defense.

He felt something creeping up his feet. A glance told him it was sand. A sense of danger shot through him. He mustn't allow it to climb any higher! He jumped back.

"It's useless," Gaara announced. "You can't hide from my sand."

"Just what is the matter with you?" he asked. He didn't want to fight in a foreign village with a local citizen, but he would defend himself from an attack. By the way, what would happen if they fought? Shouldn't some local authority intervene? Where were they? It seemed that somewhere else. It was only the two of them on the otherwise deserted street.

"I'm going to kill you to prove my existence," the Suna child answered in that unemotional tone of his.

"That's crazy," Naruto observed. The only answer was a wall of sand rushing at him. The Konoha genin countered it with Fuuton: Great Breakthrough. When the wind died down, he saw a protective cocoon of sand where the other boy was standing. The sand slowly crumbled away, revealing the impassive face of Gaara.

"Impressive," he said. "Mother will love your blood. You will serve well to prove my existence." The blond didn't answer. He realized words would get him nowhere. But what should he do? There was an obviously strong enemy wanting to kill him. He could try to run, but that sand-manipulating ability of his could probably stop him. Fight? He had no idea how that would turn out, he was only certain that fighting in a residential area of an allied village would land him in a world of trouble afterwards. And reasoning with a maniac was completely out of the question. The only viable option was retreat executed in such a manner that the deranged redhead wouldn't realize he was gone until he was safely out of his reach.

A number of clones sprung into existence in front of him. Gaara watched them with a crazy glint in his eyes. "More food for mother," he commented. The sand seemed to shake in excitement. The replicas rushed in for an attack and the sand rose to meet them. They crashed into an impenetrable wall and were destroyed shortly thereafter. The sand settled down to reveal only one blond Konoha genin standing on the street frozen in fear. Gaara grinned manically. Sand rose once again, enveloping the other boy in a Sand Coffin. He took a moment to savor the fear in those blue eyes.

"Sand Funeral," he said squeezing his fist. The cocoon of sand tightened, crushing its prisoner. The blond disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Gaara was startled. Did his prey just escape him? Rage filled his veins. Mother was talking to him, demanding blood. "You will get his blood, Mother," he answered. "Just wait a little. I will definitely crush him." Then he smiled. "Yes, he is strong. He will serve well to prove my existence."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Hotel~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto moved in consecutive Shunshin, yearning to put as much distance as he could between himself and the insane redhead. Why did he ever want to talk to him in the first place? How had he ever managed to convince himself there was a sense of kinship between them? He had never seen another such whacko in his whole life. And yet, before his eyes had filled with bloodlust, even after they did, there was something disturbingly familiar about them. He wanted to know what it was, but his common sense was telling him to keep away. He decided to listen to it this time. The memories he received from the last clone had been deeply disturbing. Despite what certain people thought, he wasn't suicidal.

He opened the doors of their suite. Only Tenzo was there.

"Hello," he greeted his charge. "Where are the girls?"

"They went shopping," the genin answered. "I didn't have the patience for that."

"Ah," Tenzo nodded sagely. "Did you enjoy your trip?"

"Sort of."

"Just sort of?" The older man raised an eyebrow.

"Well," the blond ran his hand through his hair nervously, "all went well until I met that boy."

"What boy?" The Wood user inquired.

"Maybe you noticed him when we came to the village," Naruto explained. "About my age, redhead, tattoo on his forehead, circles around his eyes, everybody avoided him."

"Yes, I noticed him," Tenzo nodded, "but I didn't look at him too well. What happened?"

"I nearly bumped into him on a street," the demon vessel said. He wasn't going to admit he was actively searching for him. "I tried to talk to him, but then suddenly he went all crazy, I have no idea why. He started threatening me. In the end I had to run or he would really have tried to kill me."

"Was it really so?" the jounin asked seriously.

"Yes," the genin nodded.

"That's a serious offense," the man continued gravely. "Are there any witnesses?"

"No," the child shook his head, "the street was deserted. Two people passed by but quickly left and that was before he started doing anything. It looked like they were scared off by his mere presence."

"That's not good," Tenzo grimaced. "Now it's your word against his. We can't take any official action. Do you know who he is?"

"He said his name was Gaara," the younger ninja answered.

"I'll ask around about him," the older man promised. "In the meantime, don't go near him again."

"I won't." Naruto promised and actually meant it. "I'm not that stupid."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara walked the streets of Sunagakure at a steady pace. Around him crowds were parting and people scattering in fear. He could crush them with his sand in an instant and they knew it. It was just right they ran from him. On another day he could have stopped to scare them some more, but not today. Today he had another prey in mind. His mother spoke to him urgently. She wanted blood. 'Yes,' he answered in his mind, 'you will get it.' Just not right now. Most people wouldn't believe if they heard it, but Gaara was actually patient. It helped him savor a good kill. And this one would be good, he was certain of that. He had already shown his strength, despite running in the end. That was nothing new to Gaara. Everybody ran from him eventually. What was new was the feeling he got from him. Somehow it didn't seem like the blond boy ran away out of fear. 'Naruto,' he repeated his name. He was a strange one indeed, even his Mother said so. He wasn't sure what made him so special, but it didn't matter. In the end, he would look just like anybody else when the sand would squeeze the life out of him.

It wasn't a problem for him to find out where the Leaf shinobi were staying for the Exams. He stood behind the corner and watched the hotel entrance intently. People passed in and out, but they weren't of interest to him. Then there, the boy who dared to speak to him about friendship finally appeared. He was accompanied by what seemed to be his team, a male jounin, two kunoichi clearly older than him and three grey dogs. He followed them at a safe distance. They were headed for the training grounds. He watched them begin their training routines. 'Yes, Naruto,' he thought, 'show me just how strong you are. Show me just how tasty a meal for Mother your blood would make. Show me how well you can prove my existence.' He settled down to wait and observe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Training grounds~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That's enough for today," Tenzo announced. The team sighed in relief. The training had been tougher then ever, not because of the distance they had to run, number of push-ups and sit-ups and squats or intensity of their spars, but because of the unbearable heat, dry and dusty air and unrelenting sunrays trying to fry them alive. They never needed so many breaks to take a drink during a session before. But then the whole point of this exercise was to get them accustomed to local climate before the Exams started.

"I can't wait to get back to the hotel," Hotaru remarked. "I just want to soak in a cold bath for hours. Too bad they don't have a bathtub here."

"Just what would you expect in the middle of a desert?" Hana commented. She was kneeling next to her dogs, which were lying on the ground bonelessly, their tongues sticking far out of their mouths, their breathing fast and heavy. "Poor Haimaru, they have it the worst out of us all."

"That's because they're wearing fur coats," Naruto said.

"It's not like they can help it," the Inuzuka replied. "Not like us," she pointed to the pile of discarded clothes. Everybody who could get rid of a garment while keeping basic modesty had done so. They waited for a while to cool off before putting their clothes back on. Before they could head back to the hotel, a figure appeared near the edge of the training grounds.

"Gaara," Naruto recognized him instantly.

"The whacko you told us about yesterday?" Hana asked.

"Yes," he confirmed. For a minute they just stood there, watching each other warily. Then the short redhead started slowly walking towards them. He stopped about ten steps away, not saying a word.

"Hello," Tenzo greeted him politely. The boy didn't outwardly react. It seemed he didn't even hear him. He was just staring at Naruto intently.

"Hello, Gaara," the blond said.

"Naruto," the tattooed youth replied. "Would you prove my existence?"

"What?!" The shout came from Hotaru.

"I'm not talking to you," the deranged youth stated calmly.

"Why, you little…" the girl narrowed her eyes.

"Calm down, Hotaru," Naruto suggested.

"He's rude," she replied. "Should I just let him get away with it?"

"We're guests here," Tenzo reminded her. "We mustn't cause any trouble here."

"It doesn't matter," Gaara said. "Mother wants his blood."

"You have a strange mother if she drinks blood," Naruto couldn't stop himself from remarking. The boy in front of him still gave him the creeps, but with his whole team backing him he wasn't scared anymore.

"Mother is Mother," the Suna boy replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. For him it probably was.

"Figures," the blond muttered.

"Mother is interested in you," Gaara added. "She likes you."

"And yet she wants you to kill me?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," the redhead nodded slightly.

"What kind of twisted logic is this?" Naruto inquired.

"I don't think there's any kind of logic," Hana commented.

"I'm not talking to you," the insane child said.

"Look boy," Tenzo intervened, "I don't know who you are or what do you want, but you shouldn't threaten my students. Understand?"

"Shut up or I'll kill you," the local boy stated. "In fact, I think I'll kill you anyway. Mother always wants blood."

"You shouldn't threaten guests of your village," the jounin suggested. "It would get you in trouble."

"I don't care," the psychotic youth answered flatly. "Mother wants your blood."

"And where is your mother?" The jounin asked.

"Here." There was nobody close by. The Konoha team took it as another proof of his insanity. They all came to the realization that reasoning will get them nowhere. But what else could they do? It wasn't like they could just attack a member of the host village. If he attacked first, they could of course defend, but without unbiased witnesses, they could still get blamed for it. All in all, it was a very unpleasant situation.

Before anything else could happen, a new person entered the area. It was a tall man in Suna jounin uniform with fang-like marks on the half of his face that wasn't covered by a headcloth.

"Gaara," he called.

"Baki," the youth spoke. "What are you doing here?"

"Gaara, what are you doing?" the man continued. "Your father would be angry with you if you kill any foreign shinobi."

"I don't care." His voice left no doubt that he indeed didn't.

"You are going to be in a lot of trouble when Kazekage-sama finds out you have been threatening our guests," Baki elaborated.

"I don't care," the disturbed redhead repeated. "Neither about that nor about him."

"Gaara," the Suna jounin scowled, "stop it this instant and go home."

The tattooed youth seemed to consider it for a moment. "I will kill you another day," he said and left.

"I apologize for him," said Baki humbly. "He is wild and untamed and we can barely control him."

"No kidding," Hotaru muttered.

"Nothing happened," Tenzo replied, "yet. Can you please make sure he won't be bothering us again?"

"I'll see to it," the Sand shinobi promised.

"I consider the matter settled then," the Konoha jounin stated.

"Thank you," Baki bowed. "I wish you to have a pleasant stay in Sunagakure." He then left to take care of his difficult charge.

"What the heck was that?" Hotaru asked when he got out of sight.

"I'm not sure," Tenzo replied, "but from now no wandering around alone."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara listened impassively as the man who dared call himself his father ranted and raved. He would have once cowered before his rage, but now it didn't even faze him anymore. He wasn't a scared little child, hadn't been for over three years now. Yashamaru had cured him of it thoroughly. He wondered idly, what would happen if he tried to kill the one lecturing him. Mother would sure like his blood. But he wasn't certain he could take on the Kazekage. That man was strong, he had earned the hat through his strength and accomplishments in the last Great Shinobi War. 'Not yet,' he decided. But once sure. Once he's older and stronger, he would crush him like the rat the man was.

The leader of Sunagakure finally finished his rant. Gaara looked indifferent. He wasn't exactly bored, sleepless nights taught him how to deal with that, it would be better to say he was annoyed. It was always the same old song how Gaara was too wild and dangerous for his own village and how he should finally learn to behave. Then he was finally dismissed. Nobody detained him, they knew that trying to lock him up would do them little good. He wondered whether there would be another assassin tonight. He would welcome it. Mother was angry she was denied her meal today and the sacrifice would console her.

He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Somebody jumped from roof to roof trying to remain unobserved. His outward expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he smiled. It looked like tonight's mother's snack was already on his way. He slowly returned home and waited.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Training grounds~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had heeded their sensei's warning, but it wasn't enough. When the pair of them stood on the abandoned plain alone with the murderous redhead, they realized how inadequate the 'safety measures' had been. Hotaru had forgotten something after the training and he had volunteered to go with her to pick it. That was when Gaara appeared again. They had trusted the Suna shinobi to handle him, but even that had proven foolish in the end. The psycho probably couldn't be controlled at all. So now they stood in the middle of a large sandy plateau that passed as training grounds in Suna, watching the sand swirl around the creepy boy, all too aware of every grain of sand lying under their feet and floating in the air around them. Not one person was in sight. They weren't expected to return soon. They couldn't count on outside help.

Gaara slowly walked closer to them. A thought of running passed through their minds, but the crazy youth was between them and the village. They stood their ground, all the while feeling like rabbits watching an approaching wolf.

"So, Naruto," Gaara started, "are you prepared to confirm my existence?" Sand whirled wildly around him.

The blond tried not to flinch. The empty green eyes caused him to feel chills even in the hot desert sun. He wanted just to bolt and run. Something in his mind growled. He recognized it as the Kyuubi no Kitsune. It was the first time he took comfort from the demon. He had the power of the greatest of Bijuu sealed within him and partially accessible for his use. If worst came to worst, he could somehow use it, like in the fight with the bone monster. He suddenly felt much better. He was however aware that fighting a sand user in the desert put him at a disadvantage and wanted to avoid a battle for as long as possible.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked. Maybe if he could hold the conversation long enough, somebody would come. He just wasn't too sure what they would be able to accomplish.

"To prove my existence," Gaara repeated.

"You already said so. How does it work?" the blond inquired.

"By killing you I confirm my existence." He said it like it made perfect sense.

"I don't understand. Everybody can see you exist. I can see it, she can see it," he pointed to trembling Hotaru, "people in the village can see it, why do you need to kill somebody to prove it?"

"Because I was created as a weapon," the redhead explained. "If I can't kill, my existence will disappear."

Warning bells sounded in Naruto's mind. Could it be? After the Old Man had first explained him about the Kyuubi, he had asked whether there were others like him. He had learned that indeed there were others, but not much was known about them. Every village kept such secrets under tight guard. He had sometimes wondered what it would be like to meet another of his kind. He had certainly never imagined somebody like Gaara. What had happened to him to make him that way? Could he have ended just like him? Enough, he told himself. He didn't even know whether the other boy was indeed a jinchuuriki so any speculations were idle.

"_**He is,"**_ sounded in his mind. It was so faint he barely heard it, but he could understand it perfectly. So the Fox knew something? He guessed he shouldn't be surprised. He decided to continue his play for time and hope that the Nine-tails would volunteer some more information, like what demon he was dealing with.

"What kind of weapon you are?" he asked even though he already knew the answer. Who knows, he might even learn something new.

"When I was born, my father, the Kazekage, ordered a sand spirit, Shukaku, sealed into me." Gaara didn't know why he was telling the foreigners this. It did them no good, he would kill them anyway. Maybe it just felt good to talk to someone once I a while. And it wasn't like it mattered what he told them, they would be dead soon enough. "He had the woman who gave birth to me killed in the process. He wanted me to be the strongest shinobi, the ultimate weapon to be unleashed at his enemies. But the war has ended. There were no enemies for me to crush. I became unnecessary. Dangerous, they said. They tried to forgot I existed and why. My own father tried to get rid of me."

"Get rid of you?" Naruto asked. Surely that couldn't mean…

"He sent the first assassin when I was six," Gaara confirmed Naruto's worst suspicion. "It was my uncle and caretaker Yashamaru. I killed him. Since then I killed everybody who came at me to confirm my existence. And now I'll kill you and that girl to confirm my existence further." The sand swirled faster.

"Forget it," said Naruto forcefully. Gaara just stood there, readying his sand for an attack. "I will not allow you to kill either myself or Hotaru and I suggest you find another way of confirming your existence. Have you ever considered making friends? I could help."

Naruto didn't know what reaction to expect from the psychotic youth, but it certainly wasn't the one he got. Just like during their first encounter he started clutching his head and whispering about 'mother.' 'Not good,' realized the blond. 'He's going to attack soon.'

"Hotaru, run," he whispered to his teammate.

"What?" she looked at him uncomprehending. "I can't leave you alone with him. You know what sensei said."

"I know and I know what we're dealing with. Just run, this is above your level." When she still didn't move, he added: "Please trust me and go." Something in his voice convinced her. She nodded and starting slowly backing away.

"You're going nowhere," Gaara suddenly roared. He wasn't clutching his head in pain anymore, instead he was grinning manically. "Mother wants your blood." He threw his arm forward. Sand rose from the ground trapping the retreating girl in its unyielding grip.

"Let her go," Naruto snarled. His veins were slowly filling with the familiar red heat. He didn't resist. If he really stood against another jinchuuriki, he would need the power.

"What if I don't?" the Suna boy taunted.

"You don't want to find out," the blond said threateningly.

"Show me," the tattooed youth said. He tightened his fist a bit. Hotaru shrieked. Naruto saw red.

"Nobody gets away with threatening my friends."

"Friends?" Gaara laughed. "Friends are nothing, you fool."

"No," the Konoha genin shook his head, "you are the fool."

"Prove it."

"I'm going to."

* * *

The end for now.

Next time: Gaara x Naruto


	12. The clash of demons

**A.N.:** So here is it, the battle between Naruto and Gaara. For everybody who wanted a fight, here you go.

Also, because several people asked: THIS IS NOT A YAOI STORY. I don't write yaoi and I don't intend to. If you want yaoi, go somewhere else.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I'm bored with repeating this, but I have to anyway.**

* * *

Naruto spared one glance for his captured teammate. She was in obvious pain, the sand slowly smothering her. He had to act quickly to save her. His hands flew through a sequence of seals. 'Fuuton: Daitoppa' was his technique of choice. Sand was picked up from the ground and thrown at the stationary redhead. A protective wall formed in front of him. Naruto's jutsu was however powered with a portion of Kyuubi's chakra and had a lot of strength. Most of the sand was blown away.

"Good, very good," Gaara cackled insanely. "You'll serve well to confirm my existence. Mother can't wait to taste your blood!"

"I told you to cut the crap already!" The angry voice came from dozens or maybe even hundreds of identical throats. Gaara lowered his sand to gain a better view. Nearly a half of the training grounds were occupied by identical blond ninja. The vessel of Shukaku grinned. This promised to be a lot of fun.

The clones in the front row ran forward for an assault, their blades unsheathed and charged with wind chakra. He formed spikes of sand and sent them to intercept them. They were fast and agile, but none of them managed to reach him. What he didn't realize was that it never was their creator's intention. They served only as a distraction to hide the other clones' movements. That is why he was so startled when he noticed a dozen fireballs heading his way, their flames fanned by Wind jutsus. His automatic defense enveloped him in a tight sphere of sand just before the flames reached monstrous proportions, entwining into a gigantic firestorm. Naruto had trained this combo since the first time he had used it, so it took a longer time before his clones started popping. Eventually the storm died down.

A giant glass ball was revealed in the middle of the training grounds. The glass was still molten, slowly dripping on the equally molten ground. Than ripples appeared in its surface and then it started cracking like a monstrous egg. A scream sounded from it. Some of the liquid glass had dripped down on the boy inside and his automatic defense wasn't fast enough, mainly due to a significant lack of unmolten, unheated sand. For the first time in his nine years Gaara felt true physical pain.

"What is it?" he whispered befuddled. "That feeling… is this pain? I'm hurt! Mother! Uaaaah!"

Naruto was watching him curiously. His battle instincts screamed at him that now would be a good time to finish him off, but a rational part of his brain pointed out that killing a local Kage's son while visiting a foreign village is generally considered a major diplomatic faux-pas, usually leading to war. So he stayed his hand, even though he had already a new bath of clones on position for another firestorm. He had no reason to kill the deranged boy anymore now that he was so startled he let Hotaru go.

"Run" he ordered his teammate and she obeyed unquestioningly. She understood that she could do nothing here and the only way she could aid Naruto would be to summon help. She was still in pain and her legs wobbly, but she was putting all her effort into her retreat.

"I'm going to kill you!" Gaara screamed. The last bits of sanity seemed to leave him, only madness apparent in his eyes. Sand picked up from the ground and attacked the clones. Naruto gave his command. Dozens of Wind and Fire techniques flew towards the deranged boy, who was once again enveloped by a protective cocoon of sand.

This time it took him considerably longer to come out. When the sphere of glass finally cracked and fell off, it revealed the creature inside. It looked somewhat like Gaara, but there were major differences. Half of his face changed into a monstrous mask and one of his arms was replaced with a giant animal paw. As Naruto watched, even the rest of his body seemed to slowly change. 'It's sand,' he realized. 'He's being covered with it. What does it mean for me? Guessing from his expression, nothing good.'

He considered his options. He could try another firestorm, but all his clones had already popped and making new ones would cost him more chakra then Gaara needed to defend against the technique. It just wouldn't do to collapse unconscious in front of an insanely powerful homicidal enemy. He had to try something less energy consuming. 'Let's see how he deals with a close-range attack.' He drew his ninjato, let out a battle cry and charged in.

He had expected the sand to try and grab his feet, but nothing like that happened. Gaara was allowing him to come close. 'Why?' the blond wondered. 'Does he want to deal with me close up and personally? Just how good is he at close range?'

He didn't get a lot of time to consider it. The monster, now covered more than halfway in sand, struck. 'He's slow,' Naruto realized. He evaded the huge arm with no effort at all. He jumped up and kicked at the monster's head. Sand appeared in his path and stopped his foot. 'Ok, that didn't work,' he thought. This was bad both for himself and Gaara. He didn't want to kill or maim the other boy, aiming rather just to knock him out, but now he would have to use potentially lethal force. He grimaced. 'What happens to the demon if one kills the jinchuuriki?' he asked hoping for an answer, but the Nine-tailed furball stayed stubbornly silent.

He landed on his feet and immediately sprung up again. Charging Wind chakra into his blade he struck at the partially sand-covered side of his opponent. Once again sand appeared in the path of his weapon, but the ultra-sharp blade was slicing through it. The sand was pressing at its sides, making a valiant effort to stop it. The sword was slowing down. The sand eventually managed to stop its progress, but not before the blade made a shallow cut near Gaara's ribs. The sand counterattacked and Naruto was forced to jump back to avoid the spikes. His ninjato had to be abandoned, he wasn't able to pry it out of its prison.

"What is it?" asked Gaara studying the red liquid flowing from his side. "Is that blood? My blood? Kyaaaah! Mother! I'm bleeding!"

'He acts like he was never harmed before,' the Konoha genin observed in surprise. 'But then, with that sand defense of his, it is really hard to injure him.' He didn't have the time to pursue the idea further. The sand around him sprang to life, enveloping him in a tight cocoon, slowly squeezing the life out of him.

"I'm going to kill you!" The Suna jinchuuriki screamed. 'That's bad,' Naruto thought. 'I can't move. Is that it? No!' He felt the familiar burning of the Kyuubi's chakra spreading through his veins. It came with more intensity than ever before. It filled every last cell of his body and continued even further. The sand was pushed back from his body.

"_**Show that impudent whelp what it means to mess with somebody who has eight more tails**_," the demon growled in his mind. Naruto grinned. He had every intention to do just so.

"What?!" Gaara seemed befuddled that his Sand Coffin failed to work. When his sand was batted away and the blond boy emerged shrouded in red chakra, an expression of panic briefly crossed his face before being replaced by a maniacal grin. "I see you're even stronger than I imagined. You'll serve well to confirm my existence." Naruto noticed that the redhead changed even further. Most of his body was now covered in sand, resembling some animal standing on its hind legs. He couldn't tell what it was, the sand swirling around wildly was obscuring his vision.

"I'm gonna end your existence!" The blond shouted and ran forward. The sand tried to block his path, but he batted it away. Shukaku's power animating it couldn't stand in a direct confrontation with the Kyuubi's. Gaara was roaring in rage and sending even more of his sand towards him. It was like going against a sandstorm, but Naruto wouldn't be stopped. He got close enough to the desert monster to strike. That brought him also within Gaara's striking distance, but the sand-covered child was slow. He easily evaded his crushing arm and buried his red chakra claws in the sand body. That's when he was hit from the side and sent flying.

He struggled to regain his breath. 'Where did this come from? Oh! Is that a tail?' Yes, Gaara had grown a tail sometime he wasn't looking. What did that mean? He didn't know. He wanted just to rush in and rip it of. 'No,' he stopped himself. 'Think. Brute strength doesn't help here.' He stopped for a moment and ran through handseals. The sand tried to stop him, but the red chakra cloak didn't allow it to come close. 'Fuuton: Daitoppa.' Great wind picked up blowing away the sand floating in the air and much of that lying on the ground. There was infinitely more underneath. Even the sand monster standing in the middle of it remained unmoved.

'Not enough,' Naruto realized.

"Is that all you got?" Gaara taunted. "I'll squash you like a bug!"

"You wish," replied the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. He created a clone for a combo attack, but the replica didn't have the protective red chakra around it and was destroyed before it could clasp its hands in a seal. 'Damn it,' Naruto cursed, 'there goes my strongest attack.'

The sand creature, now looking like a miniature version of Shukaku, finally moved from his spot and attacked in a straight line. Naruto waited for the last possible moment before leaping sideways. Te monster couldn't turn in time and ran right past him. Naruto grinned. He got now right behind its unprotected back. Well, not completely unprotected, there was still the tail, but the Konoha genin had no trouble avoiding it. With a burst of speed he landed on the creature's back and dug his claws into it. He couldn't get deep enough to reach the host's body, but the sand was melting under the Kyuubi's chakra. Now if he could keep it up for a while longer…

He was forced to dodge a wildly swinging tail. He managed to keep his hold on Gaara's back, but he had to abandon his attack. He tried to resume it, but then the One-tail host started rolling on the ground and he had to retreat or be squashed. He stopped for a moment to consider his options. It seemed hurting Gaara directly was a tricky prospect. It wasn't completely impossible, but he probably wouldn't be able to land a debilitating blow. Turning this into a battle of endurance didn't seem like a good idea either. Even though he felt full of strength now, the red chakra was burning his body and he wasn't sure how long can he hold onto it. And was it just him or was the already overgrown sand tanuki slowly getting bigger? Option one it was then, he'd just have to come up with a more damaging attack.

His mind wandered back to the fight with the bone freak. Back then he had managed to partially transform the red chakra into Wind chakra and almost tear the monster's arm of. If he could pull it off again, it might just allow him to dig through the protective layer of sand before Gaara could shake him off.

It wasn't easy, the red chakra resisted, being more suited for Fire, but he managed. He resolved that the next thing he was learning was Fire elemental recomposition. He let out a battle cry and charged. Once more sand obscured his path, but it wasn't able to stop him. The desert monster rushed to meet him. The giant arms flew forward trying to catch him. He ducked between them and got right in front of the now unprotected belly. He thrust forward his own arms, now surrounded in jagged red chakra. The sharpened claws dug deep into the sand. Gaara screamed. 'Success,' thought Naruto before Gaara's sand arms struck his back. 'Ouch!' he couldn't even cry aloud as the breath was forcibly squeezed out of him. He lost concentration and the Wind chakra dispersed. 'I have to get out of here,' was the thought ran through his mind. He wanted to do a Kawarimi, but he couldn't see anything he could switch with. He couldn't see much of anything from his position.

"_**Pathetic,"**_ resounded within his mind. 'Damn the fuzzball,' he thought. He somehow found the strength to push the monstrous arms a bit back and take a deep breath. Then he Screamed. The chakra-laced air blown away a bit of the sand covering the Suna boy. It gave Naruto just the leverage he needed. He freed his arms from their prison and pushed up. The sand hands tried to grab him, but he somehow managed to slip through them. He jumped high. The Shukaku's tail hit him midair, but it failed to do any significant damage. He landed in a roll and quickly sprung to his feet. 'Damn, that was close.'

He took one look at his enemy and almost froze. Where once used to be a man-sized likeness of Shukaku, now the Sand Demon towered in all his glory, as big and tall as whole apartment complexes back in Konoha were. 'Not good,' was the only thought present in his brain. If the battle was hard before, now it was going to be virtually impossible to land a hit on the deranged jinchuuriki. The layer of sand was now so thick he wouldn't be able to get through. He also seemed to gain more control of the sand and the red chakra cloak had more trouble repelling it. If there just wasn't so much sand everywhere…

"Hahahahahaha," Gaara laughed. "Good, very good! Show me more of your strength! Prove my existence before I kill you!"

'Not that crap again,' Naruto rolled his eyes. Than a giant fist headed his way and he was forced to jump out of its path. He surveyed his surroundings. If he could just find something that would give him an edge... but the battleground was completely in favor of his opponent. If only… there! Yes, that might be his chance. Naruto smiled and took off at breakneck speed.

"Running already?" Gaara taunted. "That won't save you!" He sent a wave of sand to intercept him, but Naruto leapt high, higher than ever before, and overcame it. "Stop, you coward! Show me your true strength!" The madman tried to call him back, but the Konoha genin just kept on running. The giant tanuki pursued him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Hotaru~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was running as fast as her still unsteady legs carried her. Her ribs felt badly bruised and every breath was torture for her. Every part of her being just yearned to get away from the battle raging behind her as fast and as far as possible. She was worried for her young teammate, but she understood his warning. This battle was far above her level and she would only get underfoot or outright killed. She shot a glance to the sandstorm raging behind her. 'Is that the power of Bijuu?' she mused. It was terrifying. 'How big a portion of their strength is this?' She wasn't sure she wanted to know. She just had to find Tenzo-sensei. He was supposed to be able to subdue their power. She knew his ability was limited in comparison with the Shodai's, but at least it was something. The First Hokage was told to have been able to command the Bijuu like household pets. How powerful was Tenzo? She had no idea, but she had trouble comprehending how any human could be powerful enough to subdue such sheer force of nature. But if he couldn't, what would happen then? She didn't want to finish the idea. She concentrated on getting to their hotel as soon as she could.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The plateau above Sunagakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto didn't stop to take a breather when he climbed up the cliffs surrounding the Hidden Sand Village, but he allowed himself a smile. It was just like he expected. Up here were rocks, stones and boulders, but very little sand. The Ichibi host wouldn't have the advantage anymore. One glance over his shoulder told him that he had just enough time to prepare him a proper welcome.

Gaara was past all rational thought. Bloodlust was clouding his mind. Bloodlust and pain. It was a new feeling for him and he decided he didn't like it. He was going to punish the one who made him feel it thoroughly. Shukaku was calling for his blood as well and giggling drunkenly. The demon was very close to breaking out. He jumped over the edge of the cliff and came into sight of his prey again.

"Boom," Naruto said activating the Exploding tags. He sacrificed most of his stash for the trap, but the result was spectacular. The giant was lifted off his feet, a good portion of his sand blown away. It wasn't quite enough to expose his real body, but it was a good start. Naruto charged for an attack while Gaara was in midair, once again converting Kyuubi's chakra into Wind element. He hit the sand body like a missile, plowing through the pressured sand. He got far inside before the sand started closing around him, threatening so squeeze the life out of him. He performed a Kawarimi with a rock he prepared for this purpose before and then watched as the rest of his Explosive tags stash blew up inside the monstrous sand body. Sand sprayed in all direction as the tanuki lost form.

Gaara's body was thrown aside and landed with a snap near a boulder. Pain shot through him with an intensity he couldn't have even imagined before. He tried to move, but the torturous sensation intensified. He wanted to scream, but he started coughing up blood instead. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his opponent approaching rapidly. "No!" he screamed before another coughing fit hit him. 'I will not disappear!' With sheer determination born out of fear, an entirely new experience as well, he brought his hands together in a seal. "Playing Possum," he shouted. Then his eyes closed and he slumped down in sleep.

'What the heck?' Naruto thought. 'Did he just fall asleep in the middle of a battle?'

"_**Wake him up!"**_ the Kyuubi screamed urgently. Naruto wondered why, but assumed the demon knew what he was talking about and wasn't trying to pull a nasty prank on him. Before he could do so, the redhead's eyes snapped open again. They weren't green anymore, instead they were yellow with a strange diamond pattern in place of pupils.

"I'm free! I'm finally free! Bwuhahahahahahahaha!" the Suna boy cackled madly and the blond realized he was talking to Shukaku himself. 'Crap,' he thought. 'You said I should wake him up,' he asked the Kyuubi, but didn't get an answer. Sand started to swirl around the wounded boy, quickly reforming the giant body of the One-tailed Tanuki once again.

'I don't think so,' Naruto narrowed his eyes and charged. The Nine-tailed demon was pushing even more of his chakra into his system. It was burning through him, burning so much. He shot through the sand around the human body and started tearing at the protective cocoon that immediately surrounded him. He concentrated on sharpening the chakra again. Shukaku's tail tried to bat him away, but he countered it with his own. 'When did it appear?' He had no time to wonder, but he put it to good use. He struck with it the same spot he had been tearing with his claws. There was more power in his tail. It broke through the molten shell and connected with the body inside.

"No!" shouted Shukaku. It felt its control on its host slipping, but he wasn't giving up so easily. He gathered all his strength into one last attack. The sand formed into one gigantic spear. It shot forward at great speed, hitting the Kyuubi jinchuuriki point blank. He had only time to cross his arms in front of himself before the sand slammed into him, throwing him high into the air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Somewhere in Suna~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baki was running through the streets of Sunagakure as fast as his legs would carry him. All around him the citizens were panicking. He didn't hold it against them. He was on the verge of panic himself. But then, who wouldn't be if they felt the power of Shukaku being released so close to them. Every one of them had some knowledge of the demon's power, most of them had seen mangled bodies and sprayed blood on the streets, some witnessed such acts themselves. Gaara was dangerous even at his calmest, if there was a way to tell when he was calm, and lately he had been agitated. Baki saw it himself when he interrupted his encounter with the Leaf team. He had no idea what had sprung Gaara's interest in the youngest boy, but it must have been something big. He pitied the child when he saw it. He was dead and he didn't know it yet. Nobody could defeat Gaara, not in the middle of desert, where an endless supply of sand waited on his beck and call.

He still couldn't fathom what could have brought on such a reaction. Gaara's kills had always been swift and brutal, one attack with sand, one squeeze and it was all over. Some people attempted to fight, but the ever-present sand trapped them quickly. Most jounin couldn't stand against Gaara and that was when he wasn't using Shukaku. When he was, everything around was crushed.

But now an obviously prolonged battle was taking place and the Ichibi's power was palpable in the air for quite some time. And it felt even worse than he remembered. 'What's going on?' he wondered. 'Did Gaara release Shukaku? Had the demon broken free on its own and is coming to kill us all?'

He reached the training ground reserved for the Konoha Chuunin Exams participants. There was a large pool of molten glass slowly cooling down. His eyes widened in surprise. This wasn't Gaara's work. What could have caused it? Did Gaara finally meet an equal opponent? Such thought was just plain scary.

He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to the newcomer. It was the Leaf jounin who commanded the unlucky squad. Did he come to save his charge? How did he know where to come? Baki had no idea, but it didn't matter now. What mattered was finding Gaara and stopping him if possible. He held no delusions about his own ability, but he was obliged to try. Gaara was his responsibility after all.

Then the demonic power spiked. The Sand jounin stopped dead in his tracks. 'Oh no,' ran through his mind. Now the Ichibi was truly out. He noticed the Konoha ninja, he couldn't recall his name, whisper something and speed towards the source of the ominous power. 'He's going to die,' Baki thought. 'We're all going to die,' followed shortly. He was scared out of his mind yet nothing seemed to matter anymore. 'It can't get any worse.' He watched the other man's back as he rushed to his certain doom. 'Is he so stupid or so brave?' he wondered. Then he decided it didn't really matter and that he looked like a coward just standing there when he should be doing something to stop the monster. He didn't want to die a coward. He rushed after the Konoha shinobi.

They climbed up the cliff's wall at top speed. The demonic power seemed less oppressive as they neared its source. 'Am I getting used to it or is it really fading? Did Gaara win already and is the Shukaku retreating back into the seal?'

Then he reached the top of the plateau and stopped on the spot, staring dumbstruck at the sight in front of him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Up the plateau~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto landed on the hard stone ground with a crash and rolled for a good distance. He idly wondered why he felt no pain. He was certain this was supposed to hurt like hell, yet all he felt was numbness. Maybe the burning of the Kyuubi's chakra desensitized him for pain. He got to his feet, even though it gave him some trouble. He looked at his opponent. The redhead was lying on the ground, the half-formed body of Shukaku disintegrating around him. It appeared he was down for the count, but Naruto wasn't taking any chances. He ran to him again.

He stopped just next to him. The Suna jinchuuriki was lying on the ground unmoving, blood covering his torso. The blond was unable to tell how serious the damage was. Gaara's teal eyes were wide open, staring at something in the empty sky.

"No," he whispered. "I cannot die here, I cannot die here." Naruto's rage was quickly leaving him. He couldn't feel anything but pity for the broken child in front of him.

"I won't kill you," he said, "but you must not touch any of my friends ever again, understood?"

"I can't die here. I can't die here," Gaara repeated like a broken record. It didn't seem he had even heard what the Konoha genin just said to him. Naruto sighed. He felt suddenly very tired. His whole body was in pain.

"Naruto!" someone shouted. He turned and recognized his guardian.

"Tenzo," he smiled weakly. Everything was going to be okay now.

Baki couldn't believe his eyes when he reached the top of the plateau. There was Gaara, the demon Gaara, the strong, unbeatable killing machine, lying on the ground, broken and defeated. If somebody asked him yesterday or an hour or just a minute ago, he would have laughed and brushed off such notion as ridiculous. Yet here he saw it with his own two eyes. The terror of the Sand Village was slumped on the ground, covered in his own blood, staring at nothing in particular and whispering like a madman, though that itself was nothing new. The short Leaf genin was standing above him, his eyes red and slitted, the marks on his cheeks more pronounced than he remembered, nails turned into claws, vile red chakra surrounding him in a shape resembling some animal, one transparent red tail swinging behind him.

'Another Jinchuuriki,' the Suna jounin realized. 'And strong enough to beat Gaara in his own sandpit.' Fear settled down inside the pit of his stomach. He knew that Gaara held the weakest of the nine Bijuu, but he had been created with maximum effectivity in mind. Even a small portion of Shukaku's power brought about massive destruction. It was speculated that Gaara should be able to take on vessels of more powerful demons, but obviously it wasn't true.

"Calm down, Naruto, he's had enough," the Leaf jounin said. The Konoha jinchuuriki looked first at the downed Gaara, then at his teacher and slowly nodded. The putrid red chakra started slowly receding. First the tail disappeared, then the shroud around his body. Claws turned back into nails, the whiskers on his face thinned and his eyes turned back to blue. Then the boy fell to his knees, leaned on one arm and started shaking. His sensei knelt next to him and hugged him.

Something about the scene disturbed Baki. He couldn't imagine anyone ever embracing Gaara. It was just impossible. He wondered what he should do now. What was the Kazekage going to do when he learned of this? What to do about a strong foreign jinchuuriki in their village? The demon vessel seemed down for the time being, he could take it out now, but there was still a jounin of unknown ability between them. And he didn't even want to imagine what the Hokage would do when he learned about it. It would be the end of their alliance with Hidden Leaf and would get them into a lot of trouble. No-one would want to deal with the village that killed the participants of their Chuunin Exams. And speaking of the Exams, should someone like him be allowed at all? Ah, why was he even thinking about it, that was the Kazekage's problem. He went to check on Gaara.

* * *

That's it for today. I hope it was up to your expectations.

Next time: The aftermath of the battle (you didn't think something like that could be overlooked?)


	13. Diplomacy

**A.N.:** This chapter has been hard to write for me. The whole fight with Gaara was something I originally didn't plan on including, but then it wrote itself and turned into a three-chapter miniarc. It almowt destroyed what I have prewritten of the Exams.

So please read and review.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I repeat it every chapter, you should know it by now.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Yondaime Kazekage was ready to bang his head on the table. Maybe if he hit hard enough he would knock himself out and wouldn't have to deal with any of this mess. Maybe he would even stay out long enough for it to resolve itself. But no, however tempting the idea was, once he was the Kazekage, he had to deal personally with whatever major crap happened in Sunagakure. And this definitely counted as major crap. His predecessor didn't warn him that days like this might come, but to be just, his predecessor couldn't give him much advice on anything, with that mysterious disappearance incident and all. He tried to remember what so terrible he had done to deserve this, but his mind drew a blank. 'It must be bad karma from previous lives,' he decided.

He forced himself to turn his attention back to the shinobi giving his report. It was another account of panic in the village. He suppressed a sigh and recalled everything he knew about the latest incident, both fact and speculation.

Fact One: Gaara is a murderous psycho.

Fact Two: Gaara met a Leaf genin here for the Exams who spiked his interest.

Fact Three: Gaara threatened said genin in front of his team, but Baki intervened and convinced Gaara to leave.

Fact Four: Baki promised the Leaf jounin they would rein in Gaara so he wouldn't bother them again.

Fact Five: Gaara fought the Leaf genin and injured his teammate.

Fact Six: Gaara lost, when the Leaf boy turned out to be a stronger jinchuuriki.

Fact Seven: There was a powerful jinchuuriki of unknown mental state and foreign affiliation within his village.

Fact Eight: No permanent damage was done.

Fact Nine: Every shinobi and civilian present within Suna felt the release of demonic power, many people panicked.

Fact Ten: Delegations from allied villages here for the Exams are demanding explanations from him.

Speculation One: Gaara attacked a guest of the village without provocation. This one was almost certainly a fact, but due to lack of unbiased witness testimonies he could pretend it had happened differently. It was the only way he could save the face of Suna now.

He considered his options. How can he weasel his way out of this without costing Suna any of its precious resources? How to salvage the treaty with Konoha? He knew that many of his subordinates hated the other village, but the treaty was one of the few things allowing them to put up a strong image. The budget cuts of their idiot of a daimyo reduced their strength considerably and now there were even rumors of further reduction. If it happened, it might very well mean the end of Sand Village. If the Daimyo-baka ever learned they broke the laws of hospitability, it would be bound to happen.

Their only chance was to deny it was them who attacked first. But he couldn't put the blame on Konoha either. The Hidden Leaf didn't need to break a sweat to make their lives difficult. If that accursed thing could just keep its temper in check… such wishful thinking got him nowhere. He deeply regretted ever attempting to create an ultimate weapon. What was he even thinking? All previous hosts of Shukaku had turned out insane, whatever gave him the idea that his son would be different? Strange, he hadn't thought of that thing as his son in years. He would have to do something about him soon, one incident he might somehow get away with, but two would be impossible to cover up.

He cut the useless stream of thoughts, instead concentrating on possible solutions. If he could just pretend that… And why not? If he could convince the Leaf jounin to go along with it… Konoha didn't want to break their alliance with them, did they? With ninja politics it was always hard to tell, but he believed he was right on this account. With a plan formed in his mind, he proceeded to take action.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Inside Naruto's mind~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He once again found himself walking the familiar dark, damp hallways of his mindscape. He didn't want to be here, but he knew there was no choice. If the demon wanted to speak to him, he had no choice but to obey. He strolled through the long corridor until he reached the cave that housed the Kyuubi.

The kitsune was sitting right behind the tall bars, his gigantic tails dancing lazily behind him.

"_**So here you are," **_he drawled. "_**I was beginning to think you got lost within your own mind."**_

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kyuubi-sama," Naruto answered sarcastically. "I see you have many more important matters to occupy your time here."

"_**Impudent whelp,"**_ the demon growled, but somehow he didn't sound really angry to Naruto.

"Yes, I love you too," the boy replied. "So is there a reason I am here or did you just want to chat?"

"_**You shouldn't be insulting your betters, little monkey,"**_ the kitsune advised him.

"I know," the blond nodded. "It just seems so easy when they are behind the bars."

"_**You're trying my patience, worm,"**_ the demon growled. Now it sounded like he was getting annoyed. Naruto decided it would be safer to quit his teasing.

"I apologize, oh great and powerful one," he said without twitching. He didn't sound particularly honest, but the Nine-tails decided to ignore it. He just snorted.

"_**Now we have the formalities out of the way, we should get down to business," **_the Nine-tails suggested. _**"As you saw today, you are nothing without my power."**_

"I wouldn't put it quite that way," muttered the boy.

"_**Oh? So you deny that without me you would be just a bag of minced meat feeding the fleabag Shukaku by now?"**_ The fox tilted his head sideways in a questioning expression.

"No," Naruto admitted grudgingly.

"_**So you see,"**_ replied the Kyuubi triumphantly. _**"You need me to win your battles."**_Naruto took a deep breath to say something, but the demon spoke first._**"So you want to deny it? That would make you even dumber than I originally thought."**_

Naruto grimaced like he just ate a lemon. The Nine-tailed demon fox was right, he knew it, but he refused to let the furball dictate what he should do. He thought carefully about his response.

"I can handle my battles unless I run into another demon," he said in the end.

"_**Hmmm, is that so?" **_The beast raised his eyebrow. It was quite the feat considering he had none._** "I clearly remember you drawing upon my power against the bone user and he wasn't a demon, that I know for sure. And what about the Grey Mist Mountains? You would have died without me and there wasn't a single enemy around."**_

Naruto had to agree the Nine-tails had a point, but he didn't want to admit defeat just yet. He was just stubborn that way.

"Those are exceptions." It sounded lame even to him.

"_**It isn't an exception if it happens too often,"**_ the kitsune pointed out. _**"In fact, how many serious battles have you been through without needing me?"**_

The blond scratched his head in embarrassment. The fuzzball was right and they both knew it. He had no doubt the demon intended to use it to his full advantage. The only question was what it would cost him.

"What do you want?" he asked with a resigned sigh.

"_**Not much, little kit," **_he replied in a benevolent tone. It didn't suit him at all._** "Just rip that seal off."**_

"You're kidding," shouted the jinchuuriki in disbelief.

"_**Well,"**_ shrugged Kyuubi, a difficult task without shoulders, but he managed, _**"it was worth a try."**_

"It was sick," the boy corrected scowling.

"_**I'm a demon," **_the gigantic fox reminded him,_** "just what did you expect from me?"**_

"Point taken," the child admitted. "And now seriously. What did you want to talk about? Surely this wasn't all."

"_**Quite right, it wasn't,"**_ the monster confirmed. _**"I wanted to propose a deal."**_

"What kind of deal?" Naruto went instantly on guard.

"_**One quite profitable for the both of us," **_the kitsune leaned closer to the bars._** "You would get easier access to my power and abilities and in return you allow more of my power to flow constantly through your body."**_

"What would that mean?" the boy scrunched his face in suspicion. "You wouldn't ask for it if it didn't mean a big gain for you, but what could it be? Are you trying to gain more influence over me? Are you trying to weaken your prison?"

"_**Paranoid little thing, aren't we?"**_ the demon observed. _**"Just why do you think everything I have to say is a trick?"**_

"I don't know," the blond shrugged. "Maybe because you are just an overgrown kitsune and all kitsune are notorious tricksters? Or was it because you don't like me one bit? Maybe I'm just naturally suspicious to all offers that sound too good to be true, because they usually aren't true."

"_**And just what good would it do me?"**_ Kyuubi retorted_**. "If you die, I die. That's one fact. I don't want to die. That's another. Therefore I have to do everything in my power to keep you alive. Do you understand or is it too much for your tiny brain to process?"**_

"Hmm, it is a sound reasoning," Naruto admitted, "but that doesn't mean you wouldn't try to get out using any means available. I have just your word that you'll behave."

"_**Maybe you aren't completely brain-dead,"**_ the Nine-tails remarked. _**"But the fact stands that I can't get out as long as the seal holds."**_

"Which brings us back to my original question," the genin replied. "Would constant use of your power weaken the seal?"

"_**No," **_the demon stated in his most convincing tone.

"I don't think I can take your word on that," the human said.

"_**Quite right,"**_ the beast nodded,_** "But it's the truth nevertheless."**_

"You would have said that even if it wasn't," the demon vessel pointed out.

"_**Right again,"**_ the Kyuubi no Kitsune admitted.

"So it comes down to the question of trust," the youth sighed.

"_**It appears so,"**_ the fox grinned. Naruto gained a perfect view of his teeth_**. "We might spend an eternity discussing it and still not come to any conclusion. Do you have that much time? I do."**_

"So we're stuck," the Konoha genin threw his hands around in an exasperated gesture. "Do I have to answer now?"

"_**Yes."**_ The monster seemed excited to hear his answer.

"Really," the young ninja doubted. "If it is so beneficial for you, then why would it be just a one time offer?"

"_**Oh, I have a lot of time,"**_ the kitsune elaborated_**, "but you don't. The Chuunin Exams start in three days time and you would be facing a lot of tough opponents there. Do you think you can handle them alone?"**_ Naruto's worried face was answer enough. _**"I thought so,"**_ the beast nodded. _**"So would you take my power and become strong enough to protect those pathetic teammates of yours you seem to be so attached to or would you remain a pathetic wimp and allow them to be slaughtered in front of your own eyes, knowing you could have saved them but stupidly refused the means?"**_

Naruto almost accepted. He was sorely tempted to do so. He would do nearly anything for his precious people, but a sliver of doubt still lingered. Then an image of Gaara shot through his mind. 'Mother wants blood,' the boy had said. He didn't understand what he had meant back then, but suddenly it started to make sense. A sick, twisted sense, but sense nevertheless. Was the other jinchuuriki talking to his demon? Was that what made the two of them so different? Would he end up just like him if he accepted the offer? Did using the Kyuubi's power regularly mean turning into a monster?

"No," he decided. "I cannot accept your offer."

"_**Think about it carefully,"**_ the tempter replied. _**"Do you really want to be powerless when your dear girls are in danger?"**_

"I'm far from powerless," he scowled.

"_**You think so,"**_ the Nine-tails chuckled.

"Yes, I think so," the blond replied with absolute certainty.

"_**Well, your choice,"**_ the fox shrugged. _**"When your dear friends die, don't come crying to me, unless you are ready to accept my offer."**_

"I'll remember it," the genin promised. "If you excuse me, I will take my leave now."

"_**Just go," **_Kyuubi said in a disinterested tone._** "And if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me."**_

Naruto paid him no mind and left his mindscape.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo wouldn't even try to deny he felt nervous about being called to the Kazekage's office. The situation at hand was a mess. The Hokage had sent them to the Exams to show the strength of future generation of Konoha shinobi, not to cause an international incident, though, the man supposed, Naruto had proven his prowess quite spectacularly.

He had been worried out of his mind when he had felt the outbreak of demonic energy near Suna. It had been so much worse when he had realized there had been two sources of the tainted power. The thought of his little Naruto fighting against a demon made him shudder in fear. Then he had run into Hotaru and the frantic girl told him about their encounter with the deranged Gaara. He swore. Exactly what he had been trying to avoid had happened. He ran toward the battle zone at top speed. He knew that his meager powers couldn't stand against the force being unleashed, but he had to try anyway.

When he saw Naruto standing above his fallen opponent, he had been immensely relieved. There was still a bit of worry, Naruto had never before used so much power it had formed a whole tail, but the boy had it under control. He managed to suppress the Kyuubi's power and passed out shortly thereafter. He had carried him to the hotel and entrusted him to Daisuke, the medic in Konoha's delegation. The man had already treated Hotaru and assured him the girl would be alright in time for the Exams. Tenzo waited until he examined Naruto and declared him mostly healthy, just exhausted. Only after that he took time to consider what he should do next.

The problem was he had never been much involved in village politics, much less international one. Even his time in ANBU gave him only marginal understanding of who is in power and what are their areas of interests. He had only vague idea about the value of the treaty with Hidden Sand and who gained what from it. Should he put on a strong façade? Should he be polite and agree to whatever Suna would want? One thing he knew: he would defend Naruto no matter what. The only one who could order him otherwise was the Hokage and he was three days away. Speaking of which, he would have to be informed. But what would he report now? It wasn't like they brought messenger birds with them. This situation would probably resolve itself before the Sandaime would receive word that something had happened. He'll wait and send his report once this situation was over.

This was when a messenger form the Kazekage approached him, informing him he was summoned before the Suna village leader. 'Here it comes,' he thought. 'For better or worse, this matter is going to be resolved soon.'

He was led into the audience chamber. He had fully expected it to look similar to the Hokage office back in Konoha, but it couldn't be more different. There was no table and no racks filled with scrolls, instead there was just a raised dais separated from the rest of the room by transparent curtains. Behind them the Kazekage was sitting cross-legged in his full regalia, his face covered by a veil. Oh, and did he mention there were guards everywhere?

He didn't know how he was supposed to act. Visitors were probably supposed to kneel upon being given an audience. But he wasn't the Kazekage's subordinate. He was the wronged party here and if he behaved too submissively, he might find the tables turned on him. He opted to just bow deeply. He waited for the Kage to speak first.

"There has been an unfortunate incident earlier this afternoon," the robed man started, his tone sharp. "A fight has broken out close to the village. Why didn't you inform us you brought a jinchuuriki to our village?"

"We aren't required to inform the host village about the abilities of the contest participants," Tenzo replied evenly. He noted that the Kazekage fired a powerful shot right at the beginning of the conversation. As far as his limited experience in diplomacy went, that wasn't something usually done. So what was the other man up to?

"That is no small matter and it cannot be brushed aside so easily," the Suna village leader claimed. "A jinchuuriki is a weapon of great destructive power, not just some average genin and cannot be regarded as such."

"Uzumaki Naruto holds the rank of genin in Konohagakure," the Mokuton user stated. "He came here along with his teammates to take part in the Chuunin selection Exams. This village guaranteed our safety, yet he was first threatened and then he and his teammate, Uzuki Hotaru, were attacked by one of yours unprovoked. Both of them sustained injuries during the attack."

"There is no proof of this," the man with the Kage hat said. "Only you claim they were attacked without provocation. For all we know they might very well be the ones who broke the truce of the Exams."

"One of your own shinobi saw Gaara threatening us," the Konoha jounin pointed out. "He assured us we wouldn't be bothered again."

"We did our best," the Yondaime Kazekage replied, "but Gaara broke his detention."

"Is that so?" The former ANBU raised an eyebrow. Inwardly he was rejoicing. The Kazekage had just admitted that the fault was theirs. "What kind of detention it was that it couldn't hold a single child?"

"That thing isn't a child." The hatred and revulsion was thick in the Kazekage's voice. Tenzo had a hard time not to grit his teeth.

"That is of no consequence," he spoke with great effort, but his voice stayed even. "What matters is that he belongs to Suna and he assaulted my students for no good reason."

"As I already said, there are no impartial witnesses of the event," the Suna Kage repeated his statement.

"Are any witnesses ever impartial?" Tenzo asked philosophically.

"That isn't the matter here," the Sand Village leader answered. "The matter is that the fight occurred and there must be consequences."

"I agree." That was without doubt. There would be consequences, he just needed to make sure they wouldn't be as the Kazekage wanted. "My students were injured while being guests of your village. This cannot be allowed to slide."

"I have been informed that their injuries are only superficial." So the Kazekage had good spies. Tenzo himself had learned that barely minutes before he had been summoned. Well, no surprise there, a Kage must be informed about the events in his own village, lest he wouldn't be able to keep his position for long.

"They could have easily been much more severe, if my genin weren't so adept at defending themselves," the Konoha jounin pointed out.

"But they are not," the Suna Kage replied.

"This isn't what matters here," the Wood user stated.

"I don't think so." The Kazekage's tone changed a bit. It seemed like he was finally ready to make his point.

"And why would that be?" Tenzo both couldn't wait to hear the answer and dreaded what the Kage would say.

"No permanent damage was done. Even though somebody managed to prove without a doubt, who is at fault for the incident, there wouldn't be a high penalty for the offender," the man with the Kage hat claimed.

"Breaking the laws of hospitability is a serious offense," the Leaf shinobi countered.

"Indeed," the Yondaime nodded. "But the thing is here is nearly impossible to prove who broke them. Do you want to risk your students being blamed?" The Kazekage was trying to bully him into submission. Did he really think he was that weak?

"I don't think this is up to me to decide, Kazekage-sama," the jounin fired his most powerful shot. "Hokage-sama is the one who deals with international diplomacy matters. It would be better to inform him and wait for his decision."

"Konoha is three days of travel from here," the Sand Village leader reminded him. "He wouldn't get the message before the Exams starts." That was exactly what Tenzo had been thinking earlier. "Should we just put you under guard until his answer arrives?" That would mean missing the Exams. Tenzo was torn on what should he do. They were in the right, but Suna was the Kazekage's playing field. He had a lot of ways to make their lives miserable without breaking any treaty.

"What else could be done?" he asked. He didn't like it a bit, but it seemed like he couldn't maintain the strong façade anymore. He couldn't confirm it, but he thought the Kazekage smiled behind his veil. It didn't improve his mood any.

"As I have already stated, no permanent damage was done," the robed man spoke. "There is no need to make consequences out of this." He had been claiming the exact opposite just a minute before, but Tenzo didn't think it would be wise to call him on it. "We might pretend that the boys just engaged in a friendly spar and got carried away." A battle with so much demonic power released could hardly be called a spar, but the former ANBU could name a couple of worse cases of stretching reality. "Then there would be no need to turn this into an international incident." It already was one, but it was a good way of sweeping trouble under the carpet, Tenzo had to give him that. "This way your genin might be even allowed to take part in the Chuunin Exams, under one condition." Oh, well, he knew it was too good to be true. "I have to think about the safety of my shinobi and allowing somebody as dangerous as a jinchuuriki into Chuunin Exams isn't standard procedure."

"There is no rule against it." While that was true, there were many other reasons a determined person could come up with to deny somebody participation in the Exams. They both knew it very well.

"Nobody takes kindly to a village sending overpowered candidates for Chuunin Exams," the Kage pointed out. It was another well-known fact. Tenzo considered defending Naruto, but that would mean revealing his abilities to a foreign shinobi, something that simply wasn't done. He decided to wait for the Kazekage to speak. "I can allow him into the Exams under one condition: He wouldn't use his demon's power." That sounded reasonable, but something important was being left unsaid.

"What would happen should he use his power anyway?" he asked. "I cannot tell him not to defend with all his might in a life-or-death situation."

"He would be disqualified from the Exams," the Kazekage announced.

"This is reasonable," the Konoha jounin said. It didn't mean any serious hindrance for his students, Naruto never used his powers if there were any other possibilities.

"I am glad we reached an agreement," the Suna Kage said. "You are excused now."

Tenzo deeply bowed and exited the room. Despite the initial scare, nothing serious had come out of the incident. Yet, a more cynical part of his brain added. He sighed. He had to write a report for the Hokage about this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hotel~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto woke up to the sensation of his whole body hurting. What could he have been doing the day before to still be in that much pain? Ah, fighting the sand-wielding whacko, now he remembered. That last blow that sent him flying must have been worse than he had thought. He slowly opened his eyes. He was lying in his bed in the hotel.

"Ah, somebody finally woke up," sounded a cheerful voice.

"Hotaru," he smiled. "So you are alright?"

"A bit sore and bruised, but I'll live," the girl recounted. "I'll even be back in shape for the Exams."

"That's great," the blond exclaimed. It would be really a pity if after all they had been through they weren't able to compete.

"Oh, and not to forget," the kunoichi added, "Tenzo-sensei wanted to talk to you as soon as you woke up."

"Where is he?"

"Right here," said the man closing the door behind him. "So how do you feel, Naruto?"

"Good," the young genin answered.

"I'm glad to hear it," the former ANBU smiled. "You gave us quite a scare."

"I'm sure it was nothing compared to how I was scared," the bedridden blond said.

"Quite likely, but that's not all I wanted to talk to you about." His tone turned serious.

"I imagined as much," the boy replied.

"I had a rather unpleasant audience with the Kazekage," their sensei informed him.

"Sorry," Naruto apologized for all the trouble. "What did he have to say about me beating his son?"

"His son?" Tenzo was genuinely surprised. "He didn't mention that."

"They don't exactly get along," the genin explained.

"That's putting it mildly," the older man grimaced. The image of the Kazekage calling Gaara 'thing' appeared in his mind.

"You have no idea," replied the jinchuuriki thinking about the assassins. "But back on the track: What did he have to say?"

"A lot of things, I won't bore you with the full recount, but it boils down to two things," the former ANBU summed it up. "First: We pretend that there was no life-and-death battle. If anybody asks, it was just a friendly spar."

"What?" the boy exclaimed. "But he hurt Hotaru!"

"Naruto," the Wood user sighed, "as you might have heard before, there is such a thing called politics. Fact is that Konoha doesn't want to break their treaty with Suna and Suna doesn't want to break their treaty with Konoha. If a shinobi of Konoha being guest of Suna was attacked by a Suna shinobi, that is what would happen. But because nobody wants that and no permanent damage was done, we pretend it didn't happen at all. Understand?"

"I understand," the boy nodded. "I really don't want to start a war here."

"That's well," Tenzo smiled before turning all serious again. "And now on to the second thing. You aren't allowed to use the Kyuubi's power during the Exams. If you do, the whole team would be disqualified."

"I can live with that," the blond said thoughtfully. "I don't use it unless somebody's neck is on the line anyway, and in such situation screw the promotion."

"That's good that you understand," the jounin smiled slightly. "And now listen what I have to say to you. There would be absolutely no wandering off alone again."

"But why?" the genin was confused. "I don't think Gaara is in the state to try anything else."

"This isn't just about Gaara," the man explained. "We barely averted an international crisis here. We wouldn't be able to cover up another incident. Understand?"

"I think so," the blond slowly nodded, "but I don't understand what do you think might happen."

"Anything unexpected."

"I still think you're paranoid," the boy sighed, "but well."

"That's not paranoia, that's experience," Tenzo corrected. "And I'm glad you're so cooperative. Now rest, you have to gain back your strength. You have only two days before the Exams start. You wouldn't want to miss it, would you?"

"Of course not!" The child looked scandalized. The adult ruffled his hair.

"So make sure you don't."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Gaara's house~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara was lying in his bed. He didn't know why he even owned one, it wasn't like he needed it. Shukaku didn't allow him to sleep. But now he took full advantage of the piece of furniture. His whole body was hurting and he didn't have the strength to stand up. He didn't see the point.

He was useless. That was the only conclusion he could come up with after the disastrous battle. He felt just like he had after Yashamaru had betrayed him. Back then he had felt unwanted and lost as well. He remembered how he had been lost and desperate after losing his teacher. It took him days, weeks even before he could come up with a purpose for himself. He became a killer. He found his new purpose in confirming his strength, slaying everybody who dared to cross him. But now even that was taken from him.

He remembered the eyes of the boy that had defeated him. He had never imagined somebody could wield such power. It had never once occurred to him that he could be defeated, not until the end. Cold fear ran along his spine. Even with the full power of Shukaku unleashed, he had still lost. He couldn't understand how it could happen. Yet it did. His strength was broken. He was broken. A broken weapon. Useless. Less than nothing. The last sense of purpose he had so desperately clung to was taken from him. Just like three years ago, he wanted to end it all. And just like three years ago the sand had prevented it.

When the obligatory assassin came in the middle of the night, he didn't even do anything to stop him. The sand saved him again, regardless of his wishes. He watched disinterested as the ninja tried another attack. It came again. Gaara grew bored of it and squeezed the life out of the man. It didn't fill him with the usual rush of satisfaction. Instead he felt just empty. He was trapped in a waking nightmare without a way out. He supposed he should do something about that, but he was too tired. For a while he considered simply letting Shukaku out, but something stopped him. He couldn't name what it was. Maybe it was something in the other jinchuuriki's eyes. 'You must not touch any of my friends ever again,' echoed in his mind.

He had no doubts that disobeying would mean the end for him. He was tempted to do just so. Friends were a lie. Yashamaru's face, first smiling kindly, then twisted in a hateful grimace appeared in front of his mind's eye. He didn't need friends. He had spent his whole life without them and stopped wanting them three years ago. He lived solely for his own sake. That was his strength. 'But it wasn't enough,' a traitorous part of his brain reminded him. Shukaku insisted it was enough. Gaara ignored him.

What drove the other boy? What made him so strong? What helped him push trough the days? He had no idea, but he wanted to find out. Yes, that's what he would do. Learn more about the boy. It was a small sense of purpose, but it was better than nothing.

* * *

That's it for today. Sorry, no action. I hope it didn't suck too much.

Next time: Some more about Gaara and the Chuunin Exams starting (finally).


	14. Friendship

**A.N.:** So here is the next chapter. Sorry the last one was so slow, but the action starts to pick near the end of this one. The aftermath of the fight is nearly over and the Exams can finally begin. And please read and review, there's never enough of those. Last chapter barely got ten.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Do you remember it now or do I have to repeat it?**

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Streets of Sunagakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto knew he probably shouldn't be doing what he was doing right now, but that knowledge rarely stopped him. Tenzo had ordered him to stay out of trouble and most importantly not to go anywhere alone, but he felt like he had a good reason for disobedience.

He couldn't get Gaara's eyes from his mind. When he saw him lying there after the battle, so broken, eyes empty, repeating he couldn't die there and yet silently begging for the nightmare to end, he couldn't help but feel for him. The other boy had started out the same as him, yet he ended completely different. But why was it so? The Suna jinchuuriki had said something before their fight, but the blond felt it wasn't the whole story. He was just too curious not to try and dig into it deeper.

He also felt responsible for the state the redhead ended in. If they hadn't met, if they hadn't fought, it wouldn't have happened. But what would have happened instead? Would the other demon vessel still go around killing whoever caught his fancy to 'prove his existence?' He supposed it was so, that his actions might have saved countless lives, but that failed to make him feel better about his role in Gaara's fate.

To sum it up, he had to see the boy again or he wouldn't be able to sleep for a long time to come. That was why he sneaked out of their hotel window, it was small, but so was he, and crisscrossed through the village in search of his psychotic acquaintance. The fox granted him a good nose, not quite like Hana's, but enough to track a person not trying to cover his trail.

It was harder than he imagined. Even though Gaara's scent was unique, influenced by his demon, he couldn't find it anywhere in the village. Did the desert winds blow it away or did it mean the redhead hadn't wandered the areas for days? He supposed it could be the case, the other jinchuuriki was badly wounded during the battle, and he might not have healed yet.

He thought about asking for him, but then he imagined how well would going into hospital and asking about their living weapon go. He would probably be arrested on spot, and he didn't even want to think about what Tenzo would do to him once he learned about it. No, asking around was out of the question. He had to solve the problem on his own.

He got lucky when he overheard two villagers talking about 'the demon.' He understood that Gaara lived in a house on the outskirts of Suna and the general direction of said dwelling. It was a piece of cake from there on. Soon he was knocking on Gaara's door.

There was no answer, but he knew the other boy was there. He could feel his presence, he could see the sand floating around in patterns defying the wind. He considered what he should do. He could just leave and not intrude where he wasn't wanted, but then his curiosity would torture him for a long time to come. He knocked on the door again. Maybe the other boy just didn't hear him the first time. No sound came from inside, but the sand whirling around quickened its pace. So the occupant of the house did hear him, but pretended not to. He could deal with that. Too many people pretended not to notice he was there, so he had lots of experience dealing with them. He knocked on the door one last time.

"I know you're there, Gaara, I'm coming in!" He didn't wait for an answer and opened the door. It wasn't locked. The sand whirled around him, but didn't try to hinder him. He decided it was a good sign and entered. The interior of the house was dark, but that was nothing strange. The architecture of Suna preferred small windows. When Naruto's eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he noticed the room was bare. Lighter rectangles on the walls suggested there once used to be furniture, but it had been removed. He pondered what could it mean.

He didn't see Gaara in the first room, so he went to search the others. They weren't as empty as the first one, but whatever equipment he saw was weathered or outright broken. 'What could have happened here?'

Finally he found the only inhabitant of the house. Gaara was lying on a bed that just screamed 'uncomfortable.' He was wearing the same clothes he did during their battle, the holes and blood still present. His dark-rimmed eyes were staring at the ceiling unfocused. When the Konoha genin entered, he shot him a disinterested glance and resumed his staring.

Naruto was taken aback. He didn't know what he expected, but it certainly wasn't this. Didn't anybody take care of Gaara? Didn't he even get the basic medical attention? Was that any way to treat the Kazekage's son? He couldn't comprehend it.

"Hello, Gaara," he greeted. The Suna jinchuuriki didn't outwardly react, only the sand twitched for a moment. "I thought I could drop by and ask how you're doing." It sounded stupid even to him, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. Gaara didn't answer, but he turned his attention to the visitor. His eyes stayed empty.

Naruto walked closer to him. Only now he could properly assess the damage he inflicted to the Suna boy during their battle. It was even worse than he imagined.

"Does it hurt?" he asked. He immediately called himself stupid. Of course it had to hurt.

"Yes," the redhead answered.

"How comes nobody looked you over?" the blond asked. "One would think the Kazekage's son would get the best medic in Suna."

"The Kazekage's son yes. A broken weapon not." The statement was delivered in completely unemotional voice, as was typical for the Suna jinchuuriki.

"That's just sick," Naruto stated. "Maybe I could help you," he offered. "I'm no doctor, but I can at least clean the wounds and dress them."

"Why would you do it?" The vessel of Shukaku seemed genuinely puzzled, though it was hard to tell.

"What do you mean: why?" the Konoha genin didn't understand. "You're hurt and you need help."

"Why do you care?" It was a good question. The blond wasn't sure how to answer it.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I just do. So would you let me help?"

"Yes," Gaara said after a moment of consideration.

"Good," Naruto smiled. "Where do you have bandages here?"

"Bandages?" The redhead asked like he truly didn't know what they were.

"Bandages," the young Leaf ninja explained, "you know, that long white stripes of gauze you wrap on injuries."

"I wouldn't know," the tattooed youth replied, "I've never been hurt before."

"Oh, well, no matter," the blond genin said. "I have some in my emergency kit. It should be enough. Now I just need some water. Where's the bathroom here?"

"Second door on the left," the owner of the house answered.

"Thanks!" Naruto ran out of the room and returned shortly with a basin full of water. "Here we go. Now let's get you out of these dirty rags that used to be your clothes." Gaara watched him impassively, but helped his self-proclaimed nursemaid in undressing him. "I'll cleanse your wounds now," the Kyuubi jinchuuriki explained, "it hurts but it has to be done or else the wound festers and that hurts even more." The patient listened in silence. Naruto then proceeded to clean and dress his wounds. It was hard, the sand insisted at getting in his way. Gaara endured the whole ordeal stoically, even though he was obviously in pain.

"It's done," the Konoha boy announced after a while. The redhead looked relieved. It was barely perceptible, but compared to his usual stony mask it was a huge change. "Though I wonder, shouldn't your demon heal you?"

"Should it?" The vessel of Shukaku seemed puzzled.

"Mine always heals me," the foxy boy explained. "No matter what happens to me, I'm alright in a couple of days max, and that if my wounds were really serious. Small cuts disappear almost instantly."

"Mine protects me from injury," Gaara answered.

"That's a good thing," the spiky-haired blond said.

"Not always," the bedridden youth stated.

"What do you mean?" The blue eyes bore into him questioningly.

"It doesn't matter," Gaara replied. Despite finding talking to Naruto refreshing, there were things he would never tell anyone. Ever. "I want to know," the redhead started his first question in the conversation, "where do you get your strength from?"

"You mean my power?" Naruto wasn't sure what the other boy was talking about.

"No," Gaara shook his head, "I mean your strength. What makes you fight even against overwhelming odds?"

"I fight to protect," the Leaf shinobi answered. "I know that should I fail, it would mean not only my death, but deaths of those I hold dear as well. That's why I cannot give up no matter how hurt or exhausted I am."

"Is that so?" the Suna boy asked. "I've always fought only for myself. I thought that made me strong, but then you came and defeated me. I realized I wasn't strong after all."

"If it helps you, you were the toughest opponent I ever fought," Naruto offered.

"But I lost anyway," Gaara objected. "I want to be strong like you. I want to be of use again."

"That's good," the Konoha jinchuuriki smiled, "but why do you look like you expect to fail?"

"I don't have anybody to hold dear." Even this statement was delivered in the same tone as a weather forecast.

"That's not good," Naruto scrunched his forehead in thought. "I know how it is to be all alone. I used to be alone too, but that was a long time ago. Since Tenzo-sensei took me in, I had somebody to care for and who cared for me. Then I got my teammates as well, I guess I got lucky. I can't imagine what would have happened if I stayed alone. But we were talking about you. Is there really nobody you could call a friend?"

"No." It was an expected answer, but it hurt to hear it anyway.

"What about just an acquaintance?" Naruto prodded. "Somebody who isn't quite a friend, but treats you well?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure what 'treating well' exactly is." It brought home the point of just how bad Gaara's life had been.

"That's a start," The blond smiled reassuringly. "What about family, then? We already covered your parents, but do you have any other relatives?"

"I have a brother and sister," Gaara answered. "I rarely see them."

"I see," Naruto nodded. "It's not much, but it's a beginning. There are people you can make friends with."

"I tried that before. It didn't go well." The redhead didn't even want to remember that time. It made him feel so powerless. Thankfully it was long in the past.

"I understand," the Kyuubi jinchuuriki nodded sagely. "In Konoha, there are few people outside my team who don't treat me like a contagious disease."

"Naruto," Gaara asked with uncertainty in his voice. "Can we be friends?"

"You want to be friends with me?" The blond was surprised. Never ever in his whole young life had anybody asked him that.

"Yes." Gaara's dark-rimmed teal eyes were full of hope.

"I… yes, Gaara, I want to be your friend." There really wasn't any other answer he could give to those eyes. "That is if you don't mind that I live in Konoha and we probably wouldn't get to see each other often."

"It's better that nothing," the redhead pointed out. "And you'll be here at least for the Chuunin Exams."

"Yes," Naruto nodded, "but they won't last long."

"Than we should make the most of the time we have," Gaara suggested.

"Very true," Naruto smiled. It seemed something was for once going right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Somewhere in Sunagakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The spy wrote his report in silence. He was too experienced to throw worried glances over his shoulder every minute, but his ears were perked to catch even the smallest rustle of sand that would betray the presence of an intruder. He didn't even want to think about what would happen to him should he be ever caught. Suna shinobi detested traitors and they weren't known for being merciful.

He usually didn't send his reports so often, but the latest occurrence within the village was something his master would want to know about immediately. It concerned just the thing he was so interested in after all. Cold ran along his spine at the thought of his enigmatic master. He didn't like him a bit and would have quit a long time ago if the man didn't scare him worse than the whole Suna T&I squad put together.

He wrote the last kanji on the paper. There, all finished. He carefully folded the paper into a tiny square and put it into an inconspicuous looking message tube, similar to those used on the messenger birds. He hid it in one of his pockets and took a winding route toward the drop-off point. The whole time he expected Suna ANBU to jump down on him and take him to custody. In his mind, everybody was eyeing him suspiciously, like he had a 'Here comes a traitor' sign hanging over his head. Every random passerby seemed like an agent following him to him.

Yet nothing happened during his journey. He left the encoded letter lying on the designated place and then took a long road to his favorite bar. He felt like getting wasted today. He really didn't have the nerve to keep going like that much longer. Part of him wished he would get so drunk he would spill all his secrets in a drunken ramble and get arrested, ending the torturous wait. Another reminded him of everything he ever heard about the T&I. He sighed. There just was no way out of the mess his life became after meeting his master. He proceeded to get sloshed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarutobi was pondering over the implications of the message that had just arrived from Sunagakure. He took a puff from his pipe. He might have known that if he sent Naruto somewhere, something was bound to happen there. His battle with the Sand jinchuuriki was no small matter, but he reckoned it could have been worse. At least nobody came to permanent harm there. And the way the Kazekage managed to sweep it all under the carpet was neat as well. He felt like he could have gained more from it, but it would take too much time and effort. 'I sound like a Nara now,' he thought idly. 'I'm really getting too old for this.' That brought his mind to the matter of his possible successor, which inevitably lead him to the matter of his students, followed by wondering what Orochimaru was up to and regretting past choices.

He cut off the train of thought. It helped nothing and depressed him needlesly. He turned back to the letter in his hands. There would be a lot of smoothing things over when he went to Suna for the finals, that is assuming one of the Konoha teams makes it that far. He hoped they better would. He wasn't looking forward to a trip into the Great Wind Desert in his age, but sacrifices must be made. Compared to others he had to make during his life, this one wasn't that bad.

But even if a diplomatic crisis was averted, there were still other matters that needed addressing. Namely the fact that Suna had a jinchuuriki, they had him for the last nine years approximately, he was clearly psychotic, whole Sunagakure knew it and Jiraiya's spy network didn't give him a single report about it. Just what was his pervert of a student doing? Did he spend all his resources on chasing after Orochimaru? It was true that he had ordered him to do so lately, but… If he just had been more decisive, if he just had had been a better teacher… Stop it, he chided himself. He returned back to the matter of Jiraiya, his spy network and their competency. How comes that in all those years they weren't able to dig up a public secret? He'll be having a word with his wayward student the next time he visited, which might be years later.

He sighed. He really was too old for this. He should find a successor soon. Hopefully one that would actually last. Oh, he already got through this routine once today. But that didn't make it any less true. He was just about managing during the peacetime, he was almost certain he wouldn't be able to handle another war. And his instincts told him there was something big brewing. He had no idea what, but experience said he wasn't going to like it. Few people would.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Morning before the Exams~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto could barely sleep with excitement the night before the exams. He realistically knew it was going to be tough, but after he had defeated another jinchuuriki, he just couldn't bring himself to care. Sure, there was the matter of being prohibited from using the Fox's power during the Exams under the penalty of being disqualified along with his whole team, but he didn't intend to take the arrogant demon on his offer anyway.

He took a while to polish his brand new ninjato. His old one was broken by Gaara's sand and Tenzo bought him a new one at a local shop. It was expensive, but it allowed him to better channel Wind chakra. One simply had to admire such a piece of work.

Speaking of Gaara, the two boys had made fast friends. Tenzo had at first been furious, when he had learned that Naruto had snuck off and threatened to lock him in a cage. That didn't prevent the boy from sneaking off again the next day after training. Gaara was now feeling better and they spent the evening talking about anything and everything, Naruto learning a lot about what the life of a jinchuuriki in Sand Village was like, telling much about his own in return.

Then barking announced the arrival of the Haimaru triplets, their mistress and their sensei and Naruto was dragged back to the hotel by his ear and locked in a brand new wooden cage for the night. He didn't mind. The next morning the Exams started and Tenzo had to let him out. If only the girls didn't snicker the whole morning, his life would be perfect.

Hotaru wasn't so excited. Her previous experience with Chuunin Exams cured her of that. She might be better prepared now, but the fact that she got injured before the contest even started, and by a child no less, brought worry to the forefront of her mind. 'At least the psycho isn't competing,' she consoled herself.

Hana was talking to her dogs. The Haimaru siblings still had a hard time dealing with the desert heat, but they got used to it enough to manage. She was confident they would preserve through whatever ordeal the proctors would chunk on them.

They ate their breakfast and picked their backpacks filled to their brims with sealing scrolls containing mainly water. As Tenzo had hammered into their heads, that was the only supply you really couldn't do without in the desert. Everything else was expendable, but never water. After only a couple of days in Wind Country they agreed with him completely.

Then it was finally time to depart for the Exams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Beginning of the Exams~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo accompanied them to the building at the outskirts of Suna. They thought they were early, but there was already an enormous queue leading towards the door.

"So many," Naruto whispered.

"You should have been there the last time," Hotaru remarked, giving off an air of an experienced Exams veteran. "This is nothing" They joined the queue. Tenzo left.

They waited. And waited. And waited some more.

"Uh, girls," Naruto started. "Is it just me or is the line really not moving?"

"It's not just you," Hana answered. "They would probably let everybody in at the set time."

"But that should be very soon," the youngest of the team worried.

"You worry too much," Hotaru smiled. "First time I took the exam they set up a false examination room and…crap." The skimpily-clad girl paled. "It's a test. They're making us wait in front a wrong door. I bet half of those waiting are actually proctors in disguise."

"What do we do?" the blond asked worriedly.

"Find the right one, of course," the Inuzuka replied. They left the line and went in search for the correct entrance. It wasn't easy. The door had been hidden under a rather complex genjutsu, but Hotaru was good at detecting those and the Haimaru triplets managed to sniff their way through. It was a close call, but they managed to find the gathering room for the examinees in time.

There were less people than in front of the building, but it still was a fair-sized crowd. Genin teams from almost all around the Shinobi nations were gathered here. There were all styles of ninja clothing and weaponry present. The most notable feature about them was that they were all older and bigger than their team. Naruto felt anxiousness settle in the bottom of his stomach, but he tried to chase it off by repeating that he was an awesome ninja. He couldn't quite make himself believe it. Hana's dogs started snarling when they caught scent of a giant feline accompanying one of the local contestants. The boy with markings on his cheeks resembling the Inuzuka's looked down at them.

"Little leaf kids came to play," he scoffed. "You should just go home. This is no place for young puppies."

"Like I'm scared of a kitten," Hana shot back. "I'm going to chase you up the nearest tree, no mater how far it is, Cat-boy."

"So you made it," a familiar voice sounded near them. They all turned to the speaker. Sure enough, Team Oboro was standing there. "And here I thought Team Leftover was good for nothing but causing trouble. Never mind, you'll fail soon enough."

"Can you cut it, Tokiko," the dog mistress growled. She had little patience for her deceased teammate's sister's jabs. "Have you already forgotten what Oboro-sensei said?"

"She isn't here now," the girl pointed out.

"We shouldn't fight among ourselves," Noriaki chastised her.

"Everybody's our enemy here," Tokiko barked.

"You're giving Konoha a bad name," her even-tempered teammate pointed out.

"And what do we have here?" somebody new joined the conversation. "Stupid Leafs fighting each other? That's just too good." The speaker was a slim girl in a red miniskirt and mesh leggings. A tight fitting top completed her attire. There was an Iwa headband tied in her black hair. She was accompanied by one rather plain boy with a fierce scowl and weird collar and what must have been the biggest genin in the Exams. He was already taller than most grown men and he looked like he had several years of growth still before him. Naruto didn't want to see how he would look once he grew up.

"Some Rocks rolled our way," Hotaru raised an eyebrow. "They must really be as thick as rocks to provoke us."

"Yea, we're an awesome team," Naruto added.

"Didn't somebody just call you Leftovers?" the Iwa kunoichi shot back. "Just look at yourselves, a bitch, a beauty queen and a little kid. Konoha must be desperate to send washouts as you."

"Shut up everybody," a voice thundered around them, putting an end to the idle chatter, boasting and shows of bravado going on in the room. Swirls of sand appeared all around them and dozens of Suna shinobi appeared, all of them dressed in the standard Sand uniforms, complete with the head cloths. They seemed to tower intimidatingly above the young chuunin hopefuls. The previously so tough elite genin suddenly felt like fresh Academy graduates again.

'Genjutsu,' realized Hotaru. She lifted her hands in the dispelling sign. Her companions mirrored her actions upon seeing her. Nothing happened. Maybe there wasn't a genjutsu and the proctors were so scary on their own. A few of the other genin tried the same, but their faces betrayed their lack of success.

"I am Matsumoto Hiroki," the scariest of them said, though they couldn't say why they thought he was scariest, "and I am your proctor for the first test. So those of you, who think they can try for chuunin and survive, line up and hand your application forms to my assistant here. Once you do so, there is no turning back. If somebody has second thoughts, leave through that door and don't come back." He let his words echo in the sudden silence. A couple of examinees felt their effect and eyed the door longingly, but their teammates prevented them from abandoning the exam before it could even start. Everybody left their forms with the scowling proctor and walked back to wait for the first test to be revealed.

"Everybody finished," Hiroki asked. "Good. Now you punks listen because I'm not going to repeat myself. There is an old monk living in the Great Rock Labyrinth not too far from Suna. Your first task is to find him and convince him to give you a key. Once you have it, you will go to the Morning Breeze guard outpost, where you would learn about your Second Exam upon showing the key to the next proctor, Museitabi Asami. No violence is allowed during the first exam. If anybody is caught fighting, his whole team would be immediately failed, no pardons given. Now don't dawdle around, you have a task to complete." With those words he disappeared from the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Elsewhere in the building~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hiroki reappeared in a swirl in another room, sand circling his feet. He was greeted by a woman in standard Suna shinobi uniform.

"Weren't you supposed to tell them more?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Was I?" the man replied. "I think I covered everything important."

"Did you now?" she raised an eyebrow. "How are those poor little dears supposed to find the Labyrinth?"

"If they can't, they shouldn't be here," he shrugged.

"Too true," she laughed.

"And what about you?" he asked. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else?"

"Nah," she waved her hand. "It would be hours before anybody gets that far. I spoke to Eiji. He's looking forward to this. He'll hold them up for hours, that is those who can get through him."

"Good old Eiji," Hiroki snickered. "I don't believe they made him do this."

"Why not? He's going to enjoy it," she pointed out.

"That's exactly why," the First Exam Proctor replied. "Did you see the poor little kids? They're so scared already."

"Yes," she smiled. If somebody from Konoha saw her at the moment, he would have wondered whether she was related to Anko. "Like a flock of sheep without their shepherd. What are such punks even doing here? It's for their own good Eiji would weed them out. They wouldn't stand a chance to survive what I have in store for them."

"Not many people can survive you," Hiroki commented.

"And that's why I'm the right woman for the job, is it not?" Now the hypothetical observer would lose his doubts. That woman must be Anko's long lost sister. "And I really should be going now. I'll have to get into the proper gear."

* * *

That's it for now.

Next time: The first test. I hope I haven't done the Exams too tough.


	15. The key to success

**A.N.:** Here is another chapter. Thanks to everybody who could be bothered to review.

I started a poll: Should I make a page with pictures of the charakters? Do you need better visuals or are you content with the description? There would be original characters appearing in the Exams.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I feel too uninspired to add anything witty.**

* * *

The gathering immediately erupted into chaos. "Just where is the Labyrinth?" "What monk?" "Natives are at advantage!" "That's unfair!" and "It's a restricted area!" were some of the most frequent exclamations.

"Maybe we should stick to some local team to find the Labyrinth," Naruto suggested. "They would know where it is and could lead us to the monk."

"I don't know, they said something about it being a restricted area," Hotaru pointed out.

"But at least they know where the place is," Hana replied. "Inside we'd be on our own."

"So let's go," the youngest teammember prodded. "Some teams are already leaving."

"You're right, let's go," the Inuzuka concluded the discussion. They stuck to the backs of the cat-boy's team, while Team Oboro stuck to theirs. They walked out of the building in silence. They strolled down a few lanes, before the cat master spoke up.

"What are you doing following us?" he snapped at them.

"We're going to the Labyrinth," Hotaru answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Go some other way, I'm in no mood to smell dogs all the time," the Suna genin replied.

"Why should we?" Hana raised an eyebrow. "This is a public pathway, isn't it?"

"Because if you don't I'll make you," the cat-boy explained. His giant feline accented it with a hiss and show of its teeth.

"I'd like to see you try," Naruto scoffed.

"Well you just might," the older blond sneered.

"Akira!" The shout came from the kunoichi on the Suna team. She was a petite girl with brown hair tied into four knee-length braids and ANBU-style armor over her shinobi uniform. She carried a sword at her waist. "We're not supposed to fight, have you already forgotten?"

"Mizue is right," their third teammate added. He was a tall and broad boy in reddish samurai-style armor. "There is no use threatening them. We'll just lose them in the maze."

"Spoilsport," Akira grumbled, but turned around and followed the rest of his squad. Naruto turned to Team Oboro and mouthed 'the same goes for you.'

"Naruto," Hana chastised. "You shouldn't be rude to fellow Konoha ninja."

"I know," the blond admitted. "It's just that Tokiko is nasty to you."

"She has her reasons," the dog mistress replied.

"That doesn't make it right," the boy opposed.

"It does," the kunoichi in question joined the discussion.

"Quiet, all of you," the purple-haired girl ordered them.

"Just my words," Noriaki said. "We have more important matters to attend to than your petty feud."

"What do you call a petty feud?" Tokiko snapped.

"Just this," her teammate answered. Team Tenzo didn't wait for the rest of their argument to unfold. They quickened their pace to catch up with the Suna team. Team Oboro joined them a little while later, Tokiko still fuming, but thankfully silent.

Soon they reached the border of the Sand village. They noticed other teams near them. All of them were heading the same direction. They climbed up the cliffs surrounding Suna and ran over a vast plateau for about half an hour. Then they stopped. Cracks appeared in the stone under their feet, becoming wider and deeper the further they went. A sign 'RESTRICTED AREA – DO NOT ENTER' was mounted on a pole and they could see others a hundred steps to both sides.

"It looks like we're here," Naruto remarked.

"Yes," Akira confirmed. "And from now on, don't try to follow us."

"Why would we even want to?" Hana scoffed. "You'll just get lost."

"Not going to happen," the cat user smirked.

"Cut it, we're losing time," Mizue interrupted.

"You're right. Let's go and leave them in the dust." The Suna trio descended into the nearest ravine.

"So how are we going to go about it?" Naruto asked when the other squad disappeared. "If we just go down there, we can spend a whole day running and not search even a half of this area. It's huge."

"No kidding," Hotaru confirmed. They couldn't see the other side of the maze from where they were standing.

"My dogs have good noses, but they don't know what to sniff for," Hana added.

"But those canyons don't seem too wide, at least not in this area," Naruto continued. "We could jump over them and look what is down there."

"Good idea," the Inuzuka agreed, "but why do you suppose the Suna team didn't do it?"

"They didn't think of it," the blond offered.

"Look around," the brunette said. "Everybody is going down, nobody tries to stay up. Why do you suppose it is?"

"No idea," the young ninja admitted, "but I'll send clones to scout first."

It didn't take them long to discover just why nobody wanted to stay on top.

"Scorpions?"

"Yes," the youngest of the three confirmed, "awful lots of them. Good at hiding and aggressive too. Most of my clones didn't even see what had hit them."

"There goes the plan," Hotaru grimaced. "We have to go down like everyone else. Drat, I'm so not looking forward to searching all the area."

"If it helps, I can still use clones to scout," Naruto offered.

"That's a great idea," the dog mistress agreed. "And while you do so, we can have a nice picnic here."

The blond boy created over two hundreds of replicas and sent them into different entrances of the Labyrinth. Then they settled comfortably into a shadow, after they confirmed it was scorpion-free, and waited. Other teams passed them looking at them oddly, but the Konoha trio wasn't bothered.

They waited for good two hours before Naruto suddenly straightened. "Found him," he announced with a grin.

"Where?" Hana inquired.

"Follow me." He jumped to his feet and ran towards a canyon about a mile to their left. He then led them through the maze of twists, forks and crossroads without hesitation. Both girls wondered how he could remember the way so precisely and worried he might take a wrong turn somewhere. They encountered quite a lot of teams going around, looking for a clue where the hermit might live.

Then the narrow canyon widened and they entered a circular place. In one of the cliffs surrounding it was a cave entrance covered with a cloth. In front of it two teams stood waiting. The Konoha squad was surprised somebody was able to find the place before them, but considering the faster squads were from Suna, it wasn't all that unexpected.

"You have to wait," one of the genin already in position informed them. "He doesn't admit more than one team at once."

"Is it so or is this another joke like the false queue in front of the examination building?" Hotaru asked.

"It is true," the Suna boy replied.

"And how do we know?" the purple-haired girl inquired. "Your word just isn't enough."

"Then go in and get yourself kicked out," the Sand shinobi suggested helpfully. Before they could decide whether to try it or not, a team exited the cave and one of the waiting teams went in. They settled down to wait. Then something occurred to Hotaru.

"Naruto," she asked, "how do we know that this one isn't a decoy?"

"Because I had my clones search the whole Labyrinth and this is the only hermitage around," the only boy on Team Tenzo explained. "What do you think took me so long?"

"That's good to know."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Jounin lounge~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo was sitting in the spacious room reserved for the jounin-senseis for the participating teams. There were shinobi from every country Suna was on speaking terms with. Some of them weren't on speaking terms with each other and their delegates pointedly ignored each other. Tenzo was now ignoring a long-haired Iwa jounin who in turn did an excellent job of not noticing him and his Konoha peers.

No matter their personal and political differences, everybody in here waited with bated breath when the names of the teams that managed to register for the first round were announced. The Mokuton user sighed in relief. His team got in. They had his full confidence, but it was still good to have it confirmed. Most of his colleagues were happy as well. Out of the fifteen Konoha teams participating, only one had failed to find the correct room in time. They all offered their condolences to their disappointed sensei, trying to console him that at least his charges won't get hurt. It was cold comfort, but it worked somehow. Only they were now worried about what would happen to their own genin in the next two rounds.

Around ninety percent of the teams made it to the first round. Their senseis stayed in the room, the others slowly left to pick up their unlucky students to either console them or yell at them for their failure. Soon talking resumed in the lounge, everybody either praising their students or complaining about them, some even betting at their success.

"And what about you, Tenzo?" asked Oboro. "How do you think your team would fare?"

"That's hard to say," the former ANBU scratched his head. "They are good and well-equipped, but I can't make any guesses when I don't know what they are up against."

"We don't know it either," the elderly woman shrugged, "but after you sent your teams to as many Chuunin Exams as I have, young man, you can make a pretty good educated guess."

"And what does your experience tell you, Oboro?" he asked.

"That all the Exams tend to be a variation of the same old theme," she replied.

"And what would that be?" another new jounin-instructor asked.

"Well, first comes the initial confusion," the woman started her explanation. "It is to see who can do their job even though they receive incorrect information somewhere along the way. Few teams ever fail that. I'm surprised there were that many this year, the proctors must have come with something extra tough." She waved her wrinkled hand. "Not that it matters. Our little guys are all in.

Then comes the official First test. That one is a non-combat information-gathering exercise. It might take many forms from a written test where knowing the answers isn't the point to a city-wide search of some elusive item. The proctors tend to have a lot of fun with this one." She took a sip from her water glass. The air was dry and speaking so much was hurting her old throat.

"Then comes the Second test. This is always a mission simulation. The teams are ordered to perform a task and have to compete against the other teams to complete it. It is made so they have to fight each other in order to succeed. Everything included killing is allowed. This is what really decides who is worthy, the previous tests are there just to weed out the worst incompetents. Oh, and not to forget, there are always the proctors who usually outdo themselves to be scary in every possible fashion. That is to make sure the candidates are able to function even when scared or confused." She took another sip. The desert air was really too harsh on her old bones.

"In case the Second test was too easy and too many genin passed, there are preliminaries right after the Second Exam ends. But that doesn't happen often, only about every two or three years. If they happen, they are in the form of one-on-one all-out matches. Once this is over, the final tournament is announced to take place roughly in a month's time. That is also a one-on-one all out fight in front of a public audience, but you already know that. Enough about this. Now you know what to expect, how do you think your teams would fare?"

"Hmm, I don't know," the new jounin-sensei said. "I'd like to say my guys are good, but to be honest, they still have a lot to learn. Information-gathering isn't their forte."

"Well," Tenzo said, "I have a well-rounded team. There's somebody for everything the proctors can throw their way. I'm afraid only that they might get lost in the desert or run into an overpowered enemy team."

"Why are you so worried about that?" One of the Konoha jounin asked. "From what I heard one of yours took out a jinchuuriki."

"It's not that easy," said the Wood wielder, "and you shouldn't be talking about such things in public. You never know who might overhear. Though looking around, I reckon by this time tomorrow every village leader in the Elemental Countries would know." The man who spoke so unthinkingly looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Sorry doesn't quite cut it," Oboro scowled. "You are going to be in my report."

"Enough about this," said another member of the Konoha delegation. "So how do you think your students would fare?"

"I hope well," the oldest among them spoke, "but I can't be so sure. Ever since Tokiko lost her brother, she has been changed. It's really a shame, she used to be such a sweet girl. And now when she is near Hana, I'm afraid she might do something rash, like making her team go against Tenzo's or looking for them on her own."

"That would be really bad," the Mokuton user agreed. "Let's hope that the Leaf genin would retain sense of camaraderie."

"Yes, let's hope, because it's the only thing we can do now," Oboro said. Soon the discussion ended, everybody waiting anxiously which teams would pass the First Exam.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Labyrinth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They waited while the two teams took their turns with the monk. Judging from the time they spent there, the old man wasn't easy to convince. Another team found the spot in the meantime and took their place in the line. Finally it was their turn. They entered the cave with a sense of trepidation.

The inside of the dwelling was cold and dark. They walked through a narrow corridor until they reached a living area. It was a lot bigger than they expected a cave in sandstone to be, but it seemed artificial. The walls were smooth and covered with some designs hard to recognize in the flickering light of a torch. In the middle of the area was a worn rug and on top of it was an old bald man sitting in a meditative position. Naruto realized they were entering his home and removed his shoes. The girls were initially startled with this, but followed his example soon. They walked a few steps into the room and bowed to the old monk. They had no idea how to convince the hermit to give them the key, but they mutually agreed that politeness couldn't hurt. They waited for the man to acknowledge them. And waited. And waited. And then waited some more. Naruto had trouble sitting still, but he somehow managed not to fidget too much.

Hana was discreetly surveying the room. It didn't take her long to realize that the designs on the walls were in fact a map, and if she wasn't mistaken, it depicted the vicinity of Sunagakure. Because her clan usually worked as trackers, they were trained in understanding maps since an early age. She concentrated on committing the plan to memory. It could become useful later on.

Finally the hermit spoke and it was all they could do not to jump. His voice was quiet and raspy, barely above a whisper, but it resounded like thunder in the enclosed space.

"So another bunch of kids came to disturb my sanctuary," he said in an annoyed tone.

"We humbly apologize, honorable monk," Hana started. As a clan heir she had the most diplomatic training of the three of them and they had mutually agreed to let her do the talking. "We wouldn't have intruded on you if we had any other choice."

"And I care why?" His tone was bored, disinterested, bordering on rude.

"There is no reason for you to now," the kunoichi replied, "but perhaps we might be able to give you one?"

"Don't be ridiculous, girl," the man snorted, "you aren't that pretty. And money has no meaning in the desert."

"But there are things that do," Naruto interrupted before Hana could take offense and try to bite the old hermit. The dog mistress shot her teammate an annoyed look, not at all happy with him interrupting her show.

"And just who gave you the permission to speak, young man," the monk scowled. "And don't get it into your head that you can bribe me. I have everything I need here."

"I humbly apologize, honorable elder," the youngest genin bowed. "It was presumptuous from me to think you might still have earthly needs. One such as you had surely attained such perfection through his endless meditations that he doesn't need to eat or drink more than once a month anymore."

"You're right, brat," the bald man sneered. "You are presumptuous and a smart-ass to boot. I don't want to hear a word from you anymore."

"Please excuse his rudeness, exalted one," Hana tried to salvage the situation. "He is still young and he has no parents to teach him manners. I do my best to instill some in him, but he has still a long way to go."

"That he has," the hermit agreed. "But as I said earlier, I don't care and I don't like you one bit."

"Then we seem to have reached an impasse," the Inuzuka stated. "You don't want to talk to us and we aren't going to leave without a key. Then we have only one option left and that is stay here and bug you until you give in just to have your precious peace back."

"Don't think you can threaten me, twerps," the bald monk scowled. "You are forbidden to use violence, but I'm not. How are you going to prevent me from physically throwing you out?"

"Can you throw us out all at once?" the Inuzuka questioned. "I somehow doubt it. And even if you do, we would just come back. And even though we are prohibited from harming you, nothing holds us back from vandalizing your possessions. And before you object you have none, how would you like your dwelling redecorated in bright orange? But it's up to you, really. You might get whatever you ask for your key, money, water food, equipment, you name it, or you might get whatever damage Naruto here is able to inflict upon your abode, not to mention what my dogs can do. They haven't marked any corner in an hours. Their urine has unique properties, did you know? It's really hard to wash and water is rare here. So really, the decision is entirely up to you."

"You are a bunch of rude brats, aren't you," the monk grumbled. "I have half a mind to give you a thorough thrashing for the utter gall of yours, but I'm too lazy." He reached into his robes and took out a big red key. "Here, take it and be gone. I don't want to see any of you ever again."

"Likewise," Naruto uttered and the old hermit shot him a dirty glare. Hana took the key from him.

"Thank you very much for your cooperation," she smiled bowing deeply. "Here is your reward," she handed him the bribe package she had prepared earlier. "Let it not be said that Konoha ninja are ungrateful."

"Just without manners," the man remarked. They paid him no heed and left his cave as fast as dignity allowed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Outside~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That could have gone better," Hotaru muttered.

"At least we have the key," Naruto replied.

Hana took out an empty scroll from her backpack and started scribbling. She was eternally grateful for all the lessons in fact and detail recollection Tenzo had put them through. She wouldn't be able to complete this task without them.

"What are you doing?" the blond inquired.

"Drawing the map before I forget it," the Inuzuka explained. "It's not like we have another." It took a good while, but finally the brunette was finished. "That's it, let's go," she announced packing the scroll away.

"Ah, do we know where the Morning Gale fortress is?" the blond asked.

"It's the Morning Breeze guard outpost," the dog mistress corrected, "and it should be to the north from the edge of the Labyrinth."

"Good, then let's go," replied the boy.

"Do you know how to get out of here?" Hotaru questioned.

"Of course," the youngest of the trio answered. "My clones searched the whole Labyrinth, remember? It's easy, we just keep that way," he pointed in a seemingly random direction, "and the rocks will become fewer and far between. From there the dune sea starts."

"Then lead on," the purple-haired kunoichi commanded. The group started moving.

It was exactly as Naruto said it would be. The rocks around them were smaller and wider apart and soon they were walking among separate boulders. It didn't take long for even them to disappear and the Konoha genin stood at the edge of the Great Sand Desert.

"Where now?" the boy asked Hana. "You're the one with the map."

"I'm not exactly sure which part of the Labyrinth are we at," she said, "but it should be almost straight north from here, maybe a little to the east. If I read the map correctly, it should be around two hours trek."

"Then what are we waiting for?" And then they were moving again.

They used every bit of the sand walking training their sensei insisted on ever since they entered the Wind Country. Some of the dunes were easy to climb, but on others the fine grains of the sand gave way under their feet and if it wasn't for their quick reflexes, they would just slide back down. In the end, the journey took them lot more then just two hours to complete. With no point of reference they could recognize in the desert, they had a lot of trouble finding the outpost. It wasn't until they noticed a Suna team running across the dunes a good distance from them that they found the place by following them. Even then it wasn't easy, the building was so well camouflaged that they almost didn't notice it, only the keen noses of the Haimaru siblings saved them from failure.

When they finally entered the guards' post, they were greeted by a tall woman wearing the Suna jounin vest, hitai-ate, utility belt, thigh holster, sandals and nothing else. They were used for a lot of wild stunts from Anko, but this was way over the top even for her. Yet somehow they managed not to blink more then once.

"So another bunch of brats made it here? Hn, I can see how you convinced the old fart to give you the key," she sneered shamelessly eyeing Hotaru's assets. The purple-haired girl blushed, but it was hard to tell whether due to shame or anger. "Listen kiddies, you might think you're good because you made it this far, but let me tell you something: This was nothing. From here on the second test starts, and if you think you know what pain and exhaustion are, think again. This would exploit all your limits and push you beyond them. And if you think about turning your tails," she gave them a wide predatory smile, "too late, guys. You cannot turn back from here, you have to follow through." She paused for a moment to allow her words to sink in. The three genin just watched her unflinchingly.

"Follow through with what?" Naruto asked. "You haven't told us what the third task is yet.

"Impatient little whelps, aren't we?" the woman drawled. "Well then. If you are so eager to start suffering, it's your choice. Who am I to tell you otherwise?" She threw her hands up in an overdramatic gesture. It made her vest slide up. It might have had more of an impact if there was somebody who would really appreciate the sight. "So listen, brats, because I will tell this only once. You have to get to the Golden Sand Castle and open the door with a key."

"Where is the Golden Sand castle?" Hana asked. There wasn't such a place depicted on the old hermit's map.

"I won't tell you," Asami replied. "You have to ask in the Evening Gale guard outpost." Hana sighed in relief. That one was on her map. "But not to make it too easy, you don't know whether the key you have is the correct one and you have no way to find out until you get to the Castle gates. Other teams got other keys, but even they have no idea which one is the real deal. Oh, I almost forgot, the team has to be complete to advance to the next round. And last thing, from now on, everything is allowed."

"How many kinds of keys are there?" Hotaru asked.

"I'm not telling," the proctor smiled enigmatically.

"So we just have to beat as many teams as we can and take the keys," Naruto summed up.

"You've got it at once, punk," the woman smiled. "Maybe you aren't a completely hopeless case, but that isn't going to be enough. And now go, I don't let anybody stay here overnight. Oh, and I almost forgot, there is a deadline for arriving to the castle, but I'm not telling you when." Her expression was downright sinister when she announced this. And then she kicked them out, almost literally.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hermit's cave~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tokiko was furious. They had spent hours wandering the stupid Labyrinth, almost getting lost several times. Then they lost another hour waiting in the blasted long line. They had to endure taunts from the other teams. Then they finally got into the sodden cave and met the shriveled old excuse of a man. Things went downhill from there. That old geezer was rude to them from the beginning, he flatly refused any bribes and he just sneered derogatorily at her busty figure in her tight-fitting shirt. Nobody ever did that to Tokiko. She might not be a beauty queen, but she was always one of the prettier girls around. She never took well to insults.

And what was worse, the pawprints they saw on the way meant that the bitch Hana and her team of losers had been already here and got the stupid key. They were just losing time here and the old fossil looked like he was thoroughly enjoying making their lives miserable. If they just weren't forbidden to use violence, she would have showed him. She entered a blissful fantasy of skinning the man alive.

Noriaki meanwhile was trying to reason with the man, who was utterly incapable of listening to reason.

"Please hear me out, oh great and venerable one." Even her usually so calm and even-tempered teammate couldn't keep the annoyance from his voice.

"I don't know why I should bother," the monk, if he indeed was such, which she seriously doubted, grumbled. "And why are you still here? I clearly remember telling you to get lost."

"I know, oh Wise one," Noriaki said, "but we simply cannot do this. We cannot leave without the key."

"Should I help you leave then?" the hermit offered. Tokiko was sorely tempted to ask him how he wanted to accomplish it, but she bit her tongue. To hell with it, why were they even sitting there? Just what aspect of shinobi business was that testing them on? There was no chance they would encounter another such character in reality. She just wanted to get over with it and advance to the next stage, hopefully that one would include fighting. She sorely needed to work out some pent-up rage.

"We humbly apologize, but we really cannot leave without the key," the grey-clad genin repeated.

"I humbly apologize I don't care," the old man said sarcastically.

Nobuo, their third teammate, couldn't hold his tongue anymore. "We don't care either! Just give us the key and we won't have to see each other ever again!"

"No," the shriveled old mummy flatly refused. "And don't be rude to your elders, young man. When I was your age…"

"Oh no," Tokiko whined. Those words always meant a long and torturous lesson was to be delivered upon them. They had endured their fair share from Oboro-sensei.

"Don't interrupt me, you hag," the bald man chastised her. No-one called her hag. She saw red.

"Now hear, you withered old dinosaur," she jumped to her feet.

"Tokiko!" Noriaki called in alarm, but she paid him no heed.

"You give us the key this instant, or I…" she fumed.

"Or you what?" He raised an eyebrow, completely unperturbed by her outburst. "You wouldn't be even able to hit me, silly little girl."

That did it. She punched his face with all her might. Only his face wasn't there anymore. Before she could realize her fist hit only thin air, strong fingers locked around her wrist and pulled. She was sent flying over the monk's shoulder.

"You fail," he announced them in a self-satisfied voice.

"What?!" Tokiko shouted getting up from her spot on the ground.

"You couldn't keep your temper in check, so you failed," the hermit elaborated, a pleased smile never leaving his face. "Now pick your teammates and get lost. Call the next team in on the way out."

Tokiko was speechless. They were being failed? And the dog-bitch advanced. She couldn't leave it at that.

"Hey, old man," she grinned evilly, "what prevents us from just taking the key from you? Or all the keys?"

"What, indeed," he looked at them with disdain. "Do you think you are the first team to try that? Do you see the bloody smears on the wall over there?"

The Konoha threesome looked the pointed direction. There really was what looked like blood on the floor and nearby wall.

"So do you have any other questions?" he asked rhetorically. "No? I thought so." Team Oboro, quiet and subdued, exited the cave. Eiji smiled. It was just so much fun to mess with the young ones' heads. He settled down comfortably and waited for his next batch of chewtoys to arrive.

* * *

And that's it for today.

Next time: The second test.


	16. Desert heat

**A.N.:** Thanks to all my faithful readers, double thanks to anyone who reviewed.

For everybody who asked so nicely, I set up a DeviantArt profile with character sketches. The link is in my profile. Those who didn't want it, don't go there. Or do and see whether it really suck as much as you feared.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. You should be able to tell on your own by now.**

* * *

It was already evening, but the jounin lounge was still full. Everybody was anxious to hear what teams had completed the First Task. The betting had long since died down, but the speculations remained.

Then finally the announcement that first squad had passed came and a jounin from Suna rejoiced. Then another and after that somebody from Rain. Some other teams were named. Then Tenzo heard his name. He had to do a double take.

"Congratulations, your team passed," Oboro smiled grandmotherly. "You look like you can't believe it. Didn't you have any trust in them?"

"I do," he answered, "but that doesn't stop me from worrying."

"Everybody worries about their students," the old woman said. "It's worst with your first. If you taught as many teams as I have, you would learn to deal with it."

"What about you?" the Mokuton user questioned. "Don't you worry about your team?"

"I think I already said it before," she explained. "I trust them with reservations. I don't really worry about them. After all, there aren't that many ways to die during the second test. I can't even recall the last time it happened, it's been years, or was it decades? But you, young man, should be worried from now on."

"Thanks for the inspirational talk," the former ANBU grimaced. "It did a lot to boost my morale."

"You're welcome," she smiled.

There was a period of silence. Than another teams' names were announced.

"If I'm not mistaken, your squad just failed," Tenzo remarked.

"Ah, it seems so," Oboro shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. It was their first time trying so I didn't expect them to pass anyway."

"You're quite stoic about their performance," the male jounin observed.

"Lad," she gave him a sagely smile, "if I worried about everything, I would have turned grey before I was thirty."

"You are all grey," he pointed out.

"That's because I'm a lot over thirty," she replied. "And if you excuse me now, I have to find my charges and console them. So long."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Great Wind Desert~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they exited the Morning Breeze outpost, it was already dusk. The sun had touched the horizon and painted the dune sea in a thousand of unbelievable colors. Soon the last rays of daylight disappeared and everything faded to black, only the stars providing a minimal illumination.

"So which way is it to the Evening Gale outpost from here?" Hotaru inquired.

"North-north west," Hana answered after consulting her map. "We should go and cover as much ground as possible during the night. We might even get there before the morning."

"We'd be running all night," the youngest teammate asked with horror. The dogs whined in unison.

"We cannot stay here," the Inuzuka explained. "Too many teams around to attack us."

"That also means a lot of teams we can attack," the blond countered.

"That's true," the dog mistress admitted "but they might come in groups here. If two Suna squads team up on us, we're done for."

"True," the boy grimaced.

"We'd go as far as we can before settling down for the night," the brunette decided. "In the morning we'd continue to the Evening Gale outpost and set an ambush there. The teams should be more spread out by then." They started running.

They didn't get too far before the dogs sniffed the air and growled. "Somebody's ahead," Hana translated.

"Ambush," Hotaru asked.

"Probably," the Inuzuka nodded.

"Do we circle them or do we fight them," Naruto inquired.

"They're prepared for us," the Purple-haired girl pointed out.

"They might just be camping," the blond argued, "and besides, we have to acquire some keys to succeed. Why not start now? I reckon the further we get, the tougher the teams who make it that far. This might be our last chance to beat up wimps."

"While that's true, there could be strong teams anywhere. We also shouldn't lose our key," the dog mistress countered.

"We just have to make sure we beat them," the boy said simply.

"That's easier said then done, you twit," Hotaru chided. "How do you want to accomplish that without putting us in jeopardy?"

"Clones," he answered. "I'll send them to find out what traps they set up and how good fighters they are."

"Do you still have enough chakra?" Hana was dubious.

"I'll manage," the demon vessel answered. He then created about a hundred Shadow Clones. Six of them henged into perfect replicas of Team Tenzo, the others spread out to surround the enemy position. The real team stayed back and observed. The decoy clones just walked and passed right beside the other squad without anything noticeable happening.

"Are they asleep or what?" the blond wondered.

"If so, we're lucky," Hotaru remarked.

"I don't think so," Hana disagreed. "They're very much awake. Either they don't want to fight us or they did something else. Let's wait a little longer and see."

It took awhile, but then the clones pretending to be them slowly changed direction.

"I haven't ordered them to do this," Naruto whispered.

"I have an idea what that might be, but it's too soon to tell for sure," the purple-haired kunoichi replied. They waited a bit more. The clones turned completely around and reached the place near the enemy camp again and once more they passed it without incident.

"It's just as I thought," the girl nodded to herself. "They're caught in a genjutsu trap. Whoever set it up would let them walk around in circles until they collapsed from exhaustion. Then they just pick up the key and wait for another prey."

"Genjutsu specialists tend to be weak in direct combat," the Inuzuka mused.

"True," Hotaru nodded, "but we don't know enough about them. There can very well be one genjutsu type and two heavy hitters."

"So are we going to attack them or not?" the blond demanded.

"Impatient, aren't we?" the dog user smirked. "Whoever gets too close will get caught in the illusion as well."

"If we know about it we can dispel it," the boy pointed out.

"Sometimes it's not so easy," the purple-haired kunoichi replied.

"Do you think mere genin could pull off such a high-level technique?" the jinchuuriki doubted.

"They are among the best in their village," the scantily-clad girl answered. "There is no telling what they are capable of."

"Then I'll just send my clones to charge and find out," Naruto declared.

"And since when are you a genjutsu expert?" Hana raised an eyebrow.

"I'm good enough to dispel one," the foxy boy defended.

"Do we have a better idea?" Hotaru asked.

"I guess not," the Inuzuka sighed. "But I don't want them to find out we are on to them."

"Then I'll just henge my clone into something, lizard or snake or mouse," Naruto proposed. "They shouldn't be able to tell it isn't the real deal."

"Do it," the dog mistress commanded.

"Right on," the spiky-haired blond grinned and motioned one of his clones to proceed. The replica changed into a small rodent Naruto had seen the first night they entered the desert. The animal let out a squeak and hopped toward the still concealed enemy positions. After a seemingly long time Naruto jolted.

"It's good," he reported. "The illusion can be easily dispelled and the three genin are hiding just below the surface in the dune over there. Only one of them is awake. A surprise attack can take them out. I have a plan."

"Do tell."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A short time later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aoi stifled a yawn. It was already over two hours since the Konoha team got caught in their trap. They were still full of energy when they first came, but now they seemed to be slowing down. It won't take long now for them to settle down and go to sleep. And once they were out of it, their time would come. He glanced to the side where Shohei and Yuudai were sleeping. He would like to replenish his energy as well, but somebody had to hold the genjutsu up. He had half a mind to wake one of his comrades to relieve him, but decided against it. Neither of them was good enough for such a task and the trapped team might just realize what was happening to them.

He wiped the sweat from his brow. Whoever came up with the idea that desert nights were cold? He was determined to have a few not-so-kind words with him. It was nearing midnight and it was still uncomfortably hot. He took a careful sip from his bottle. That was another thing he hated about this. They had been warned that the desert was blazing hot and dry, but nobody had explained to them just how much. They came from the always humid Village Hidden in the Rain and couldn't quite comprehend the tales about the arid Land of Wind. They packed as much water as they could, but it seemed like it wouldn't be enough. Oh well, they'd just take the water from the teams they'd defeat.

The trapped Konoha team came close again. They were dragging their feet now. Aoi smiled. It won't be long now. They'd have their key and water and then he can finally go to sleep. It was exactly that moment things went to hell.

He had no idea how did it happen, he couldn't have possibly dozed of, could he, but suddenly they were surrounded by dozens of ninja. He woke up his comrades. Before they could properly open their eyes, the enemies were already upon them. 'Little kids? And aren't they all the same?' he noticed in the minuscule light. 'Just clones,' he recognized with relief until one of them dug through the sand right above him. 'Damn, they're corporeal,' he realized with a start. He barely managed to lift his forearm to block the short blond's blow.

Shohei and Yuudai were rudely awoken and looking around in befuddlement, not understanding what was going on. But they were all trained shinobi and although they didn't know what brought their current predicament about, they knew they had to fight and so they did. Shohei's hands flashed halfway through his favorite Suiton jutsu before he realized there was no water around. He abandoned the technique and drew a kunai instead. He did it just in time to block a sword slash from one of the many clones. His eyes widened in surprise when the ninjato cut right through and continued on its path to his stomach. He tried to avoid it, but there wasn't enough space in their underground hideout. The blade left a long, but thankfully shallow gash along his belly. He cried in pain and struck the ninja responsible. He dispersed in a cloud of smoke. 'Clone?' He didn't have a whole lot of time to be surprised. Another one flew from the cloud obscuring his vision and struck him to the head. He fell to the ground, stars dancing around his vision. He knew that even the clear desert skies couldn't possibly have so many of them. A kick to his temple cut his musings short. His world dissolved into darkness.

Yuudai wasted no time. He drew his kusarigama and attacked first. He managed to disperse two clones before one came close enough to him to strike. He jumped high over the blade. He had to get somewhere with more space to be able to fight at his full potential. The blond replicas tried to tackle him, but they were at a disadvantage. He swung the weighted chain around. Those who didn't get out of his reach in time were destroyed. One tried to attack from above, but he slashed it with the sickle part of his weapon. As long as he could keep spinning the chain, he should be fine.

A strong wind suddenly rose, picking up the sand and throwing it into his eyes. He was forced to close them, but he didn't stop waving his weapon around. The wind strengthened and threatened to lift him off his feet. He was forced to take cover on the ground. 'It's a jutsu,' he realized, but there was nothing he could do about it.

The wind suddenly died down, but the dirt was still floating in the air. He tried to open one of his eyes. It was as far as he got. Something barreled into his side at a great speed, throwing him into the air and then slamming him in the ground. His breath left him in a huff. The thing that tackled him turned out to be a grey dog. He recognized it as one belonging to the trapped team. Before he could do something about it, its mistress appeared with a kunai in her hand. 'She's going to kill me,' flashed through his head. Before he could muster a defense, a vicious kick sent him into oblivion.

Aoi watched as his teammates fell before the Konoha team, who suddenly didn't appear tired at all. 'Damn, how did they turn our own trap against us?' was all he could think about between dodging and slashing. A squad of two girls and a child had seemed like easy prey, but they've proven themselves to be anything but. He couldn't afford to succumb to despair. He wasn't defeated yet. Those little blonds were skilled, but they dispersed after one hit. There couldn't be an unlimited supply of them. Now if he could just destroy them all… he'd still have to face the original team, he realized as he noticed a taller figure among the swarm of clones.

The scantily clad girl slowly made her way toward him. He couldn't allow himself to get distracted by the way her tightly fitting mesh bodysuit glittered in the starlight. She was his enemy and was about to strike at him and he had no idea what she could do.

He barely avoided an attack from behind. 'Just how many of them are there? There seems to be no end to them.' Crackling of electricity made him turn his attention back to the girl. She was holding out a sword, its blade enveloped in lightning. 'Not good,' he thought. 'If I block that, I'd be electrocuted.' He prepared to leap away, but before he could do so, the clones charged in a mass attack. He tried to jump anyway, but they grabbed his legs and refused to let go. He started kicking wildly to get rid of them and it was working. Unfortunately for him it was too slow. The kunoichi got near and swung her sword, letting the lightning fly from her blade. Being restrained by the clones he couldn't move. His mind flew through possible defensive techniques, but before he could utilize one, he was hit. It was the last thing he remembered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Team Tenzo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We got them," Naruto laughed. It was nice his strategy brought such a success. They had switched their places with the decoy clones when the Rain genin couldn't see them over a dune and pretended they were still trapped within the genjutsu. Meanwhile Naruto's other clones transformed into tiny desert wildlife and crawled towards their hiding position. When they got close enough, they sprung an attack.

"Tune it down," Hana chastised him, but mirth was lacing her tone. "Somebody might hear you."

"Let's just search them through," Hotaru suggested kneeling down by the one she downed. The others followed suit.

"I've got it," Hana announced after a while. She held a large silver key above her head triumphantly.

"I've got just a set of new kunai," Naruto remarked.

"I've found only some provisions," the purple-haired kunoichi added. "Oh, and what's that? Another one!" She proudly showed an ornate black key to her teammates.

"Two of them? And none is the same as ours. That's great," Naruto smiled. "Although I don't understand how those wimps managed to defeat another team. Now just if this one had one more…"

They searched diligently, but they couldn't find another key.

"We got more than we expected anyway," the Inuzuka said. They tied down the captives and left them there for the proctors to find. "We should move now. We have to make a good distance from here before settling for the night."

"More like morning," muttered Naruto.

They started running across the dunes again, Naruto wiping their tracks with a Fuuton jutsu. They were all tired, but they kept on for an hour before stopping. They made a camp and fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were awoken by dogs' growling. The sun was high up in the sky and bearing at their camouflaged camp with a vengeance. They didn't need to speak. They knew somebody was coming. They just kept lying like they were still fast asleep and stretched their senses to the max. They had built some traps around their encampment during the night, but they had little experience doing it in the sand. The little training they got in before the Exams didn't quite cut it. Naruto wished he could have stationed clones around, but they had the stupid tendency to dispel shortly after he fell asleep.

"I don't recognize them," Hana whispered after a while.

"Me either," Naruto added.

They were sleeping fully clothed with their weapons close at hand, they now only stealthily fastened belts under their sheets. Naruto made a handsign covertly. Ten clones came into existence, immediately disguising as small desert fauna. They spread out through the depression Team Tenzo was camping in.

Whoever was nearing them, they were good. They neatly avoided all the tripwires and pitfalls, but that wasn't everything the Konoha team had in store. One of Naruto's clones dispelled letting the boy know the enemy was in the right position. The blond made another handsign. The explosive tags activated. Naruto had spent every possible moment replacing the stock he had used against Gaara. Now it was paying off.

The approaching team was caught off guard. The little notes have been cleverly hidden underground and no smoke gave them away before they went off. The approaching genin team was thrown into the air. Before they landed, the Konoha trio was already on their feet, running at the enemy with weapons drawn.

The foreign threesome landed. Their headbands identified them as members of the Hidden Rock village. They had the standard makeup of a genin squad, two boys and one girl. They seemed to be around Hotaru's age, maybe a bit older. Nothing about them looked remarkable.

One of the boys had been too close to the blast and he was completely knocked out. The girl was a bit better of, lying on the sand and clutching her head. She was trying to get up, but the Haimaru triplets were upon her in an instant, biting her arms and pinning her to the ground. The third Iwa genin managed to remain unhurt, only a little shaken. He got to his feet and assumed a battle stance. Hotaru and Naruto were closing on him. He ran through a couple of handseals and let out a breath of fire. The two Leaf genin narrowly avoided being fried alive. That guy was obviously good. He turned around to look for them. What he saw had him staring. There were several copies of the boy running at him. The clones Naruto made earlier returned to their human shape, but he didn't know that. He was an experienced fighter however and didn't let his surprise paralyze him. Even as the clones ran through their own handsigns, he prepared another fireball. He fired it at the same time the clones launched their own jutsus. The flames of his technique were fanned by the winds of Naruto's clones. For a moment a raging inferno appeared where he was standing. Then the clones were popped and the winds died down. The flames disappeared as their creator cut their supply of chakra at the same time.

Naruto and Hotaru surveyed his handiwork. Even though they were far from the epicenter, they still felt the overwhelming heat. They didn't even want to think how it was for the Iwa shinobi. Oddly enough, he was still conscious, kneeling on the burned ground, smoking, his clothes blackened. Naruto ran for him. The Rock genin tried to defend himself, but every movement hurt. The Konoha blond made short work of him.

A thorough search through the downed team's possessions rewarded them with one blue key.

"Only one," the short boy said disappointedly.

"Just what did you want?" the skimpily-clad kunoichi asked. "Last time we got lucky. Just be glad this one is different from those we have so far."

"Yeah, I suppose that's true," the youth answered. "Shouldn't we be going? I'd like to find the Evening Gale outpost before evening comes."

"You're not the only one," Hana agreed.

It was well into the afternoon before they found the miniature fortress. Unlike the Morning Breeze outpost, which was nearly invisible, this one was masquerading as a lonely rock. It was quite a good camouflage, but the absence of similar boulders in the vicinity gave it away. The squad entered it gratefully. It was comfortably cold inside. The heat outside was really getting to them. They were grateful for every drop of water Tenzo made them pack. They couldn't even fathom how teams without skilled Seal crafters could manage.

They were met by a completely ordinary Suna chuunin. In comparison with the woman in the previous outpost it was quite a let down.

"So you made it that far," the man greeted them. "You weren't too scared by Asami, were you?"

"Nah," Naruto said, "she has nothing on Anko."

"Then I hope I'd never meat that Anko person of yours," the Suna shinobi shuddered.

"Can you please tell us how to get to the Golden Sand Castle?" Hana interrupted.

"I'm afraid I can't," the man shook his head. "I can tell you only the next part of the way."

"And where is that?"

"It's the Red Dragon outpost," he answered.

"Do you at least know how many checkpoints there are?" Naruto couldn't help but ask. The desert was getting to him.

"I'm sorry but I can't." He actually sounded sorry, much to the surprise of the team. "You'll have to find out for yourselves. And now go, there is a deadline approaching."

"When?"

"I'm not at liberty to say," he hung his head regretfully. Somehow he managed to exclude a completely pitiful air. It made them want to hug and console him. It also had the effect that they started to doubt their chances at success. Hotaru idly wondered whether that was another genjutsu.

"Figures," Naruto grumbled. They left the outpost.

"Which way?" Hotaru asked as Hana pulled out her map.

"Southwest," the Inuzuka answered. Without further ado they resumed their journey.

The landscape around them slowly changed. Rocks and boulders appeared among the dunes and their number and size steadily increased. Naruto climbed on a bigger one and took a look around.

"Get down before someone sees you," Hotaru shouted at him.

"I see a plateau from here," he called back.

"And?" she prodded unimpressed.

"And there are funny shaped rocks on it," he continued.

"So?"

"One of them looks like a dragon," he explained, "and it's kind of reddish in color. Do you suppose it's where the fortress is?"

The girls were beside him in an instant. "You're right," Hana said. "That should be it."

"It doesn't even look too far," the blond added.

"You can never tell for sure in the desert," the purple-haired kunoichi reminded them.

"Distance doesn't matter when we have the right direction," said the Inuzuka.

"Unless it's a mirage," Naruto remarked.

"Let's just hope it isn't. Besides it's just where the map says it should be."

"So let's get going."

It was shortly after the sunset when they came upon another team. The terrain changed completely, the dunes were replaced by rocky ground with boulders littering the landscape every couple hundred steps. The wind was blowing the other way so even Hana's dogs couldn't smell them before they came in sight of them. Three people in what appeared to be Grass shinobi uniform were lying on the ground completely unmoving.

"Are they dead?" Hotaru asked.

"No, they're still alive," Naruto answered. "Their chests are moving, though barely."

"Could it be a trap?" the purple-haired kunoichi wondered.

"I don't know," Hana answered. "They seem to be honestly out of it."

"If so, what happened to them?" the blond mused. "I don't see any kind of battle damage." His night vision was best out of the whole team.

"Me either," said the Inuzuka, "but a lot of things can get you in the desert, for instance the heat or the thirst."

"Yes," Hotaru observed, "it looks like they were trying to hide in the shade, but it didn't help them."

"Let's check them out," Naruto suggested.

"Careful," the dog mistress berated.

"I know," the youngest teammember rolled his eyes, "that's why I'm sending clones."

The clones met no resistance on their way to the downed team. They poked and prodded at them, but got no reaction other than a soft sigh. "Definitely out cold," they announced.

Hana decided it was safe and walked closer to them. She knelt down and examined them with a diagnostic jutsu. "They're suffering severe dehydration," she revealed her findings.

"Shouldn't the proctors pick them up then?" the youngest genin wondered.

"Thinking of it," Hotaru mused, "did anyone say that the proctors were supposed to pick the downed teams up?"

"You mean they'd just leave them for the dead?" Naruto's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"We were warned that the Exams were dangerous, lethally so," the Inuzuka answered.

"But that is way overboard," the boy exclaimed. "Most of the applicants would die that way!"

"Yes, it is strange," Hotaru nodded. "From what I gathered, death at Chuunin Exams should be a rare occurrence, otherwise the whole event would be canceled."

"Then maybe the proctors just didn't get here yet," the blond said.

"Maybe," shrugged the dog mistress. "The question is what should we do? If this was a Konoha team, I'd say help them, but they're not."

"Still I don't like the idea of letting them die when we could help," Naruto said. "And isn't Kusa our allied country?"

"It is," Hana confirmed. "We can give them a little water and help ourselves to their key."

"Sounds like a plan," the foxy boy grinned.

"Do we have enough water to throw around?" Hotaru worried.

"I don't know how long would we be here, but we still have for over a week," Naruto answered. "We can afford to give each one a bottle."

They went with that proposition. Searching through the unconscious genin's possession rewarded them with two keys, but unfortunately both were the types they already had. Naruto grumbled about it.

"Don't be so down," Hotaru consoled him. "Sometimes things just don't go your way. We still have four types of keys. This might just mean we have all of them!"

"Really?" The boy perked up. "That would be great. But somehow I don't thing we've been so lucky."

"Well," the purple-haired kunoichi shrugged, "there's nothing we can do about it. Let's just get to the Red Dragon fortress and ask where the mysterious Golden Sand Castle is. We might even find it tonight and if not, we'd just find shelter among the rocks there. The wind and sand are really bothering me."

"Me too," the blond replied. "And it's picking up. If it goes on like this, there might even be a sandstorm."

"Don't say such things," the kunoichi chided, "you'll just call them upon us."

"Don't look at me like I'm some kind of bad luck charm," the boy defended himself. "Do you see a storm coming?" He looked around. "Oh, what is it over there?" he asked in a small voice. The two girls looked where he was pointing. They had to squint against the dust in the wind.

"I can't see anything," Hotaru said.

"There is something on the horizon," Hana said, "I can't see it well, it's blurred."

"You want to know how it seems to me?" Naruto asked rhetorically. "Like a cloud. And it's getting bigger."

"You're right," the dog mistress replied. "Oh hell, it really is a sandstorm. And it's coming right on us! Brat, you really jinxed us."

"That's not my fault!" the boy defended half-heartedly. The worry about their immediate future was stronger then his pride.

"Stop it, you two! We have to find shelter!" Hotaru shouted over the howling of wind.

"What about them?" the blond pointed at the downed genin.

"First we have to save ourselves!" The Inuzuka shouted over the rising wind.

"Is there a cave nearby?" Naruto shouted back.

"Just build a tent and tie it down with ninja wire!"

* * *

A.N.: That's it for today.

Next time: The conclusion of the Second test.


	17. Golden gate

**A.N.:** The next chapter is here. Thanks to everybody who reviewed the last one.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Is there anybody who thinks otherwise?**

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They almost couldn't believe it, but they survived. They had spent the night trembling, huddled together, while the sandstorm raged around them. It was completely unbecoming for tough young ninja, but even the mightiest and most arrogant of them had to bow before the forces of Nature. The winds had been howling around them the whole night, trying to tear their fragile tent from its place behind a rock, but the ninja wire held tight. The storm settled for tearing holes into it by scraping endless supply of sand against it. It succeeded, but the six people and three dogs managed to stay grounded, once more thanks to the ninja wire and the chakra they used to stick to their boulder when the gusts of wind were too strong. Before morning came they were all so exhausted they fell asleep without bothering to station guards. They were lucky nobody found them while they were defenseless, but considering all the sand covering them it wasn't that much of a surprise. They were virtually invisible even from a few steps away.

When they finally mustered the strength needed to get up, it was nearly noon. Only the fact that the boulder that had shielded them from the storm protected them also from sunrays saved them from overheating. They dug their way from under the sand and surveyed their surroundings. It looked like a completely different landscape. Where there used to be rocks only yesterday, now stood sand dunes.

"Whoa," Naruto commented. "Are we still in the same place?"

"I think so," Hotaru replied. "I think we would be able to tell if the wind carried us along with the boulder."

"Good thing is I can see the Red Dragon from here. It doesn't seem far," the blond reported.

"You know distances in the desert are confusing," the purple-haired kunoichi commented.

"I know," he replied, "but this really appears much closer then yesterday evening."

"I could be a mirage," Hotaru pointed out. "I heard whole caravans got lost in the desert chasing after them."

"Now who is calling disasters upon us," the jinchuuriki muttered.

"Did you say something, Naruto?" The kunoichi smiled too sweetly.

This was when Hana joined them.

"How are they?" the boy inquired.

"Better now. They should wake up soon," the vet answered.

"That's good to hear," Naruto smiled.

"We should get going," the dog mistress suggested. "We lost enough time and who knows how close the deadline is."

"We're lucky we survived at all," Hotaru said. She had heard some horror stories about the deserts of Wind Country from her former teammates.

"I'm worrying about the other teams," the youngest of the three said. "If the storm caught them in open plain, how would they manage to survive?"

"Better not think about it," the purple hair girl suggested. "At least the local teams have some experience with sandstorms and the others are capable as well. Trust them to pull through somehow."

"You know, Hotaru, you would sound more convincing if you believed it yourself," the boy observed.

"I suppose so," the girl replied, "and we should really get going now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Afternoon~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Red Dragon Fortress was indeed close, but the fact that the sand from the night's storm buried the entrance made it hard to find, but the team managed. The keen noses of the Haimaru triplets triumphed once again. Upon entering the fortress they were greeted by a wizened old shinobi covered in so many scars that almost no unmarred skin was visible. He walked with a pronounced limp and one of his hands seemed to be missing several fingers. They were tempted to ask what had happened to him, but kept their mouths shut.

They felt elated when the man announced that this was the last stop before the Golden Sand Castle. He also informed them where the Castle was, namely in a valley to the west of Suna village, hiding under a cliff not far from the outskirts of Sunagakure. Then he promptly kicked them out.

"Figures," Hotaru muttered.

"What figures?" Naruto inquired.

"That the finish would be so close to the village," the scantily clad kunoichi explained.

"Why?" the blond was curious.

"Because the senseis of the successful teams and proctors and even the local Kage would be coming there," she elaborated. "They wouldn't want to travel too far."

"That makes sense," he agreed.

They spent the rest of the afternoon and most of the night traveling. They settled for a short nap not too far from the plateau hiding Suna. Around an hour after sunrise they were on their feet again.

Finding the Castle proved to be surprisingly easy. Even though it couldn't be seen until they were almost upon it, they managed to catch tracks of another team and followed them to the Castle gate.

"Finally here," Naruto almost shouted, only the dirty glances from his teammates made him keep the volume down. They didn't want to alert any potential enemy so close to their goal. He started running towards the looming gate.

"Stop!" Hana shouted. The boy immediately obeyed. His teammate's tone implied how much pain he would be in if he didn't. "There might be traps!"

"I don't see any and I don't smell anyone here," the blond defended.

"The scents from the castle can hide it," the Inuzuka said. Even Naruto had to admit it was true.

They approached the gate with utmost caution, but they haven't encountered any traps. Finally they stood before the gate.

"Hurry up and open it," Hotaru said.

"Right on," the dog mistress replied and took out the two keys she had been keeping. She tried to insert them into the keyhole. "This isn't the right one and this isn't it either."

"I'll go next," said Naruto and took out his own keys. "Damn, that's bad." Since Hotaru had only the duplicates, that meant neither of their keys was the correct one. She tried them nevertheless, with predictable result.

"I can't believe this," Naruto exclaimed. "After all this and we get stuck just before the finish!"

"Yes, it's a pity," the purple-haired kunoichi agreed, "but we shouldn't despair. There is still one thing we can do."

"What is it?" the youngest genin asked.

"Wait until somebody brings the key to us," she answered with an evil smirk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Night~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They spent the whole afternoon laying traps around the castle. They discussed possible strategies of ambushes. Naruto created clones, disguised them as wildlife and stationed them all around as guards. They would know about any approaching team an hour in advance. Yet the wait was almost unbearable.

"What if nobody comes?" Naruto couldn't help but worry. "What if they wouldn't have the right key either? What if everybody died in the sandstorm? What if they were blown away and can't find their way back? What if the deadline passes and we wouldn't know it? What if we cannot beat them?"

"Oh for Kami's sake, be quiet already," Hotaru couldn't stand his whining anymore. "Whatever happens, happens. We did all we could. And now let us get some rest or we'd lose for sure." That made the hyperactive boy finally shut up, but he still couldn't sit down quietly, instead marching back and forth.

"Can't you just go to sleep like us?" Hana asked in annoyance.

"You know I can't," he answered. "My clones would pop."

"Oh," the Inuzuka couldn't believe she forgot about this. "Just don't step into any of our traps."

"That haven't happened for months," he defended. He just hoped the girls wouldn't use that incident to tease him, but they were genuinely tired and sleepy.

A few hours after the girls fell asleep, a clone dispelling alerted Naruto to somebody's approach. He analyzed the received memories and then decided to go take a look himself. Even with his excellent night vision he couldn't see much, but there definitely was something big heading their direction. He ran back to the camp to wake the two kunoichi.

"Somebody's coming," he announced.

"Who and where?" the Inuzuka asked instantly awake.

"I don't know," he answered. "They seemed to be camouflaged. I could barely recognize movement."

"That might mean a Suna team then," Hotaru assumed. "They would know how to move around the desert undetected."

"We'll see when they come closer," Hana said. "Now does everybody remember the plan?" After receiving two affirmatives, she continued. "Well, then get on your positions. The enemy could be here soon."

The following waiting was almost unbearable. They were tired, cold, because the infamous cold desert nights finally came after the storm changed the weather, impatient, jittery and anxious that they would fail their test so close to the goal. They realized that this was exactly what the proctors were playing at and could understand that real ninja missions can be even tougher than this, but that changed nothing about the fact they were close to their endurance limits. Only the overabundance of water kept them in the game for so long.

Another clone dispelled itself. It let Naruto know that the enemy entered the canyon leading to the Castle. He could now recognize three figures shrouded in sandy-colored long robes the citizens of Suna seemed to favor. He signaled his findings to his teammates.

It didn't take long for the robed team to appear near their hiding spots. They waited until they got a bit further before springing their trap. The trick with explosive notes had worked before and even now it succeeded in throwing the victims high into the air. They landed with hollow thuds and sounds of splintering wood. 'Crap, puppets,' was a thought that ran through all three Konoha genin minds. 'Where are the real ones?' immediately followed. 'The puppeteer must see the puppet in order to control it properly,' Naruto recalled one of Tenzo's lessons. The canyon was curved, so they couldn't be too far behind. Other possibility was above, but his clones should have spotted them already if that was the case, that is unless the other team were experts at hiding, which puppeteers usually were. So where?

His thoughts were interrupted by the remains of the puppets springing back to life. The Blast notes had left them in pieces big enough for the puppeteers to use. He was going to remedy it.

"Drat it!" He shouted a coded warning to his comrades. He didn't pause to see whether they took cover, his hands were almost through the series of handseals before he finished. He sent the Fuuton: Cutting Blow into the canyon. His Wind jutsu were always more destructive in enclosed spaces. Even if the wood was reinforced against chakra-induced damage, this should leave it in a thousand little chunks.

He didn't wait to observe the results of his handiwork and ran from his hiding spot as soon as the winds died down. A split second later and he would have been smashed by the boulders that suddenly started raining from above him. He was sure there were none the last time he checked. 'A Doton user,' he realized. 'Is he above me? How comes the clones haven't spotted him?'

He tried to sniff the air, but he wasn't as good as an Inuzuka, and considering how his jutsu mixed up the currents in the area, he doubted even Hana would have an easy time finding them.

He created a bunch of clones and made them scatter. He was now sitting duck on the bare canyon wall and he at least wanted to confuse his opponents. He purposefully produced a great cloud of smoke along with the clones and utilized it to hide his movements. There was a small alcove in the rock near his position and he used it to hide himself, while his clones ran around trying to discern the enemy's position.

Hana cursed under her breath. Naruto succeeded in destroying the enemy puppets, but the dust he raised with his technique made her dogs sneeze, thus giving away their hiding spots. They had to jump out quickly to avoid a hail of senbon. Too bad she couldn't see clearly where did they come from. She noticed a number of Naruto's clones running around aimlessly. Four shuriken flew at them and two of the replicas were destroyed. The dog mistress smirked. Now she saw where did they come from.

Before she could do anything about it, a handful of kunai came flying at her and she was forced to dodge. That had been someone else. They were in an unfavorable situation, there was no use pulling any punches. She took out Soldier pills and threw them to her dogs. A few seconds later they turned into vicious wolf-like beasts. Sometimes their appearance was enough to scare an opponent off, but those were tougher. She expected nothing less from her fellow chuunin-wannabes. The Inuzuka foursome started climbing the canyon walls.

Hotaru was the only one who remained concealed. At least she was pretty sure the enemy hasn't detected her yet. She yearned to jump down and join the fray, but that would remove her element of surprise. She would have to wait until they showed themselves and then strike. Now where they could be holed up again? One was probably somewhere above, he had unleashed the avalanche on Naruto. The other should be on the opposite side of the canyon throwing the kunai. Where was the third? She had no idea.

Naruto felt the rush of memories from his clones popping. Most of them showed him just the bottom of the canyon, but one had come from above. There was one of their elusive attackers! According to the clone's memories, he had suddenly sprouted from the ground. Naruto had heard about such techniques, but couldn't perform any of them. Pity, they would have come in handy. He would have to figure a different way of getting up there. Too bad he couldn't command his clones with just a thought.

"Scouts attack," he shouted jumping from his hiding spot. Immediately a good portion of the wildlife turned into short blond boys. The ninja showering the canyon with kunai was momentarily startled, but quickly recovered and started hitting the newcomers instead, as Naruto gathered from the received jumble of memories. Most of his clones in vicinity were destroyed quickly, but some of them remained. And most importantly, he got a good visual of the area. 'Kawarimi,' he thought and switched with one of his clones. The replica that appeared on his spot was immediately destroyed by some senbon. The Suna genin looked startled when one of the clones rushing at him refused to pop upon being hit. Instead he drew a ninjato and swung at him. The Sand shinobi recognized the barely noticeable distortion protruding from its tip. To avoid being sliced by the Wind blade he took a giant leap backwards, hoping to land on the other side of the canyon. He was hit by a lightning bolt midair and promptly fell to the bottom. Hotaru finally joined the fray.

"One down, two to go," she shouted merrily. Instead of an answer came another batch of kunai. She batted them away with her kodachi, then noticed the tag burning at one of their handles. Her eyes widening she jumped up, but the blast caught her nevertheless. She was thrown out of the canyon.

The Suna kunoichi who had thrown it had little time to rejoice. Naruto saw her and rushed towards her at top speed. She saw his approach and started flinging her weapons at him. Naruto dodged and blocked to the best of his ability, but it wasn't enough. One kunai embedded itself painfully in his side. It made him stumble, but his rage at the girl pushed him on. Her eyes widened in fear. He didn't know what she saw that was so frightening to her, but it didn't matter. She was going to pay.

Hana and the Haimaru siblings reached the top of the canyon. She saw one of the enemies launching kunai after kunai at her youngest teammate in an attempt to stop his charge. That didn't interest her. She trusted Naruto to handle himself. She was intent on finding the last one. She sniffed the air. The ever present sand made it an unpleasant task, but she wasn't deterred. There. She smiled. He was well hidden, but she was just too good at finding people.

The Suna girl noticed movement behind her. Some instinct made her throw herself to the side. It saved her from being hit by another sword-wielding blond boy. 'Clone,' she recognized and destroyed him with a well placed shuriken. The distraction was enough for the original, who used it to get close to her. She turned just in time to see him raise his weapon. A quick flick of her wrist sent her kunai flying at him. At the distance he had no chance to dodge. He didn't even try. He swung his sword downward. She saw the kunai piercing his side, then his sword landed and she knew no more.

Hana saw from the corner of her eye how Naruto and the enemy kunoichi downed each other. 'Crap,' she thought, 'that means it's only me and the other guy now.' She could see him now, a faint mound in the sand covering the plateau. If she couldn't smell him, she would have completely missed him. He was a puppeteer without his puppets, useless and just hiding. She couldn't use a Tsuuga on him while he was underground, but she had more than just the Inuzuka family style at her disposal. A couple of handseals and a deep breath later she spat a fireball at him. He was forced to leave the suddenly hot spot. That was when her dogs charged. He couldn't dodge three Tsuugas at once. 'Success,' she thought grimly, surveying his damaged body. Then she went to check on her teammates.

Hotaru got off easy, she was only shaken and bruised and woke quickly when the vet poured some water on her. Naruto was worse of, one of the kunai went in really deep and she suspected there was some poison involved as well. If she didn't know about the jinchuuriki's miraculous healing ability, she would have been deeply worried for his life. She tried to patch him up to the best of her ability nevertheless.

Hotaru meanwhile searched the defeated team. She managed to find six keys in total, two of them were of a kind they didn't have, both of them golden. She showed them to Hana triumphantly. "Think these are it?" she asked.

"Golden keys for the golden gate? I don't know, it just sounds too cliché," the Inuzuka doubted.

"But it's fitting," the purple-haired girl argued. "I say these are it."

"Let's see," the dog mistress replied. She picked up her wounded teammate and together they made way to the gate.

"Yahoo!" shouted Hotaru when the first key fit. "I told you so!" Hana just smiled. The door unlocked without trouble and they entered the Golden Sand Castle. Finally, after days of torture, they reached their goal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Golden Sand Castle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were greeted by a proctor as soon as they entered through the gate.

"So another team made it," he said, "but there must be all three of you to complete the second task successfully."

"There are all three of us," Hana pointed out. "Nobody ever said we have to all be unharmed."

"Well, excuse me, but your teammate doesn't seem to be able to continue."

"Oh, he's a tough little one," the Inuzuka said. "Just let him sleep overnight and tomorrow he'll be up and about again. Though it would be better if a medic could see him," she admitted. Naruto choose that moment to let out a moan. "And it would be better if he could see him now," the vet added. "And there's a wounded Suna team just outside the castle."

"They are still in the Exam," the man stated. Both kunoichi had to suppress a shudder. It was just too cruel. "Now follow me to the infirmary."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The infirmary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto woke up in an unfamiliar room. His side hurt, but it wasn't too bad.

"Awake already?" asked Hotaru from another bed. The blond had a sudden sense of deja-vu. Who did they fight with this time? Ah, it was that Suna team. He remembered the girl he had fought. She had hit him with a kunai and then he had slashed her with his sword. Red line had appeared across her torso. Had he killed her? Cold fear ran through him. In all the missions he had undertaken, he had never actually killed anyone. He had beaten them and hurt them, he assisted in the kill of the bone freak, but never had he directly taken another life.

"Hey, Naruto," the girl called.

"What?" he asked startled.

"You spaced out," she replied. "Should I call a medic? It was some nasty poison on that blade. The mednins were at a loss how are you still alive."

"No, it's fine," he refused. "I'm feeling all right."

"Really?" The girl raised a purple eyebrow. "You don't seem alright from here."

"I don't need a doctor," the boy scowled. He could barely stand being at their mercy. "It's just that girl."

"Which one?" she teased. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

"I don't," he scowled. "I mean the girl from the Suna team. Did I kill her?"

"Oh," Hotaru finally realized what was bothering her friend. It was bothering her too, after all. "I don't know," she said. "They were all still alive when we left them, but the proctors refused to take them in when we told them about it."

"That's just…" he trailed off. He had no idea what to say.

"Cruel is the word you can't find?" Hotaru offered.

"Maybe," he replied. "Now here probably should go a speech about the reality of shinobi life."

"Probably," she agreed. "It sounds now completely different than it did at the Academy, doesn't it?"

"I wouldn't know," he shrugged. "I never attended."

"I forgot," she said. "But you've heard it before, didn't you?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "Countless times."

"So what do you think about it now?" Hotaru inquired.

"That it doesn't capture the reality," Naruto answered.

"Too true," the girl nodded sadly.

"What about, you, Hotaru?" he asked quietly.

"What about me?" She looked at him questioningly.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Once," she answered. "It was on a C-rank with my original team. The caravan we were protecting got attacked by bandits. I sliced one of theirs throats."

"What was it like?"

"Bad," she admitted, "but I consoled myself that it was just some lowlife who belonged to the gallows anyway."

"But this girl wasn't," the blond pointed out. "She was just somebody wanting the promotion, just like us."

"Yes," she nodded sadly. "That makes it so much worse." Naruto sighed.

"So how do we deal with it?" He was at a loss.

"I don't know," she confessed, "but we have to come up with something."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~After the second exam~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They spent three days waiting for the mysterious deadline. Naruto was back on his feet within the first one and even Hotaru quickly shook off the effects of the blast. The fate of the Suna team still weighted on their conscience, but it didn't drag them too down. Everybody was bored with being cooped up in the castle. Finally the time of concluding the Second Exam came. All successful teams were called to a large chamber.

Four squads had made it through the desert in time. There was Team Tenzo, the Iwa team they had been arguing with before the First test, The Suna team with the cat boy and another Suna team favoring robes as their dressing style. They didn't have a lot of time to observe each other, because a side door opened and in walked four people. Naruto immediately recognized Tenzo among them and smiled at his guardian. Then he couldn't help but gawk when he noticed his companions.

One of them was a big man in standard Suna shinobi attire, with the exception of its coloring: it was decorated with wild stripes in all shades of yellow, orange, dark brown and black. It gave him the appearance of a large tiger. Something about him reminded the blond of a certain green-spandex loving jounin from Konoha he had met once.

Second was a man in Iwa uniform with long dirty blond hair tied in a high ponytail. He would have looked normal if it wasn't for his hands. Were there mouths on his palms? The Konoha genin didn't really want to know.

Third entered a geisha. She had everything a geisha should have. Her black hair with bluish tint was tied up in an elaborate style and held up with golden needles and combs. White paint covered her face and intricate red make-up enhanced her impossibly green eyes. Her finger- and toenails were polished crimson. Her slim figure was clad in an expansive yellow kimono with designs of cacti and dunes, tied with a red obi. Her elegant feet were clad in high soled sandals that were suited only for slow walking. The young ninja couldn't fathom what was somebody like her doing here. Then she headed for the 'Team Robe,' as he privately dubbed them, and it occurred to him that she might be their sensei. The fact that the style of the kunoichi of that team was similar to that of the older woman's supported that theory. Then the geisha moved her arm and a picture of a scorpion was revealed on the inner side of her wide sleeve. Suddenly she didn't look so decorative, more like deceptively dangerous, resembling a deadly scorpion hiding under a beautiful desert blossom. Yes, now he believed that she was a formidable kunoichi.

His musings were interrupted when Tenzo came to them. They greeted him like they had believed they would never see him again. And truthfully, there were occasions when they believed they wouldn't get out of the blazing sandy hell alive.

"So is everybody alright?" their sensei asked his charges.

"We'll live," Hana answered everyone.

"Good thing you insisted we bring so much water," Hotaru added. "I'd never believed it, but we really needed most of it."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed shooting covert glances to the other teams.

"Is something bothering you?" the Mokuton user asked. The blond's eyes darted toward the other finalists once more. Everybody seemed to be preoccupied with their reunions. Good.

"Tenzo," he started, "are jounin everywhere weird?"

"Yes," the older man confirmed, "in fact the better the ninja the weirder he or she is." A horrible idea suddenly struck the young jinchuuriki. It was almost too terrible to even consider, but once it appeared in his brain it refused to go away. He couldn't help but voice it.

"If the more powerful ninja means the weirder person and the five Kage are the most powerful shinobi around, does that mean that the Five Great Villages are governed by the five greatest whackos around?"

"Unfortunately yes," Tenzo nodded solemnly. "Just why do you think there are so many wars?"

Before Naruto could wrap his mind around the idea, the door opened again letting in a couple of Suna ANBU.

"The Kazekage is coming," the jounin said. "We have to stand at attention." He quickly ushered them into position, the other teams lining up beside them. The proctors started filing into the room. They recognized the scary Matsumoto Hiroki, the shameless Museitabi Asami, now thankfully fully clothed, the monk, who wasn't dressed like a monk anymore, the pitiful man and the scarred man whose names they never learned among them. Two more masked guards came and after them a man in blue and white robes wearing a hat with kanji 'Wind' on it. Everybody straightened up. The dignified village leader (or greatest nutcase in Hidden Sand? Naruto couldn't help but wonder) assumed place on a dais and turned to the gathered genin.

It was the first time Naruto came face to face with Gaara's father. So this was the man he had heard so much about. He didn't know what he imagined him to be, but somehow he felt let down. He had expected a monster, but instead he saw just a man. A cold, hard man of power, but just a man nevertheless. He didn't even strike him as a particularly cruel type. Although he couldn't tell for sure due to the veil obscuring the Kage's face, he thought the man was looking directly at him. What was he thinking? His musings were cut short when the Kazekage started speaking.

"Congratulations to all who made it this far," he started. "You have proven your strength and endurance. But now the final test lies before you, the one-on-one tournament that would take place a month from now. Does everyone of you feel up to it or does somebody wish to quit? Because from now on it's an individual competition, you wouldn't be hindering your teammates." He waited for a while. Nobody spoke up. They all went through hell and back to get that far and they weren't quitting now no matter what chances of success they had. "Nobody? Well," the Kazekage continued, "since there are twelve competitors, there would be six matches in the first round. The winners will advance to the semifinals. After that the final match would be a three-way battle, assuming that all three winners of semifinal matches are able to continue. If there aren't any questions, we will now choose the match-ups."

One of the proctors standing behind the Kage moved forward. There was a box in his hands.

"I am Maruishi. I am the proctor of the Third exam. Now every one of you pick one of the stones in the box." He then walked along the line and held the box out to the competitors. One after the other they reached inside and took out a rectangular piece of rock. When it was finished, he returned to the side of his Kage. "Now everybody tell me the number inscribed of your stones, starting from you," he pointed at the genin on the opposite end of the line from the Konoha team.

"Five," a long-robed boy said.

"One," the Kimono-clad girl reported.

"Twelve," a blue-dressed youth announced.

"Four," the giant from Iwa read from his stone.

"Eleven," his sister said.

"Six," their black-cloaked teammate added.

"Three," the armored samurai-look-alike announced proudly.

"Eight," cat-boy told.

"Nine," a girl with unbelievably long braids reported.

"Seven," Hana spoke.

"Ten," Hotaru said.

"Two," Naruto closed up the reports.

"Alright then," the proctor finished writing on his pad. "This is the match up for the finals." A tournament table appeared on the screen behind him. It said:

1. Kaede – Uzumaki Naruto

2. Shinkudai Toshiro – Akatsuchi

3. Gennosuke – Kamizuru Kageromaru

4. Inuzuka Hana – Kineko Akira

5. Mizue – Uzuki Hotaru

6. Kurotsuchi – Aoyume Daiki

Naruto was pleased with his first opponent. The kimono-clad girl looked like one of the weakest contestants, and though looks were often deceiving among ninja, he was more confident he could handle her than almost anybody else. He just didn't like the fact that should he win, he'd face one of the giants. Oh well, no sense worrying about that now. After all, the bigger the enemy the bigger a target he makes, Gaara had proven that enough.

Hana was excited by her pairing. She couldn't wait to show the arrogant cat dude up. He was probably having some ideas about showing her up, at least his smirk and the look he sent her way suggested it, but she was fully determined to set him straight. She sneered back.

Hotaru took one good look at her opponent. It seemed like this Exams would turn out better for her than the last one. Her opponent looked more decorative than dangerous. Of course so did she, but appearances were deceiving. She just hoped this particular deception wasn't too deep.

"The Final tournament will take place exactly one month from now in the Great Suna Arena," the Kazekage spoke. "The first match would begin exactly one hour after sunrise. Whoever fails to show up would be disqualified, no pardons given. You are now dismissed." He turned around and walked from the room. Others followed suit. Soon the area was completely vacant.

* * *

A.N.: The pictures of the succesful teams are on my DeviantArt profile now. Should I start a poll on the result of the tournament? Probably not. It wouldn't change anything, because it's already prewritten.

Next time: The month inbetween.


	18. A month long wait

**A.N.:** I'm back with another chapter. My muse is currently sulking, so please cheer her up with some reviews, or there would be long waiting for more chapters (once I run out of the prewritten ones).

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Sometimes I wish I did, but lately I would have to be ashamed.**

* * *

They left the Golden Sand Castle. It was late afternoon and the sun was shining brightly on the sandstone cliffs.

"Finally!" Naruto exclaimed. "I thought I was going to get crazy if I had to stay one more day."

"Didn't we all," Hotaru uttered. "No need to get overly exited."

"So how do you like your opponents?" the blond inquired. "I can't wait to start training again."

"So what else's new," the purple-haired girl muttered.

"I just want to get into a huge bathtub and soak for hours," Hana stated.

"Me to," Hotaru added. "Too bad they have none here."

"In that case," Tenzo said, "you'll be glad to hear we won't be staying here until the finals."

"Yipee!" "Yay!" "What?!" Guess who said what.

"Just what does bother you about it, Naruto?" the dog mistress scowled. "Don't you want to see water again just like anyone else?"

"Yes, but…" the boy trailed off.

"You want to see that friend of yours again," the brunette asked.

"Yes," he nodded.

"You can see him before we go," Tenzo consoled him.

"Thanks, but that's not enough," the blond replied. "Do you have any idea how lonely is he? Why do we have to leave anyway?"

"Technically we don't have to," the jounin started explaining, "all finalists have the right to stay until the Finals are over, but the Kazekage hinted that he would appreciate if we got lost and didn't come back until the Finals started."

"But why?" Naruto scrunched his forehead in confusion.

"Have you already forgotten your fight with Gaara? He's nervous of your presence," the older man explained. "It is better not to antagonize him needlessly."

"I can understand you shouldn't piss off foreign leaders," the jinchuuriki answered, "but just why should he be worried about me? Have I done anything to him? He knows Gaara started his fight."

"That the does," the Wood user nodded, "but he doesn't know what you are capable of. After his experience with Gaara, it's no wonder he just waits for you to sprout a few tails and start killing people left and right."

"It's his fault Gaara turned out that way," Naruto said hotly. "You were right. The Kage is really the biggest whacko in the village. And arguing with whackos is pointless and dangerous. Okay, we're leaving."

"I'm glad you're so understanding," the older man said.

"I wouldn't put it that way," the boy muttered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The hotel~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were greeted by the other Konoha teams. They were pleasantly surprised to hear nobody from Konoha came to any permanent harm during the Exams. Everybody congratulated them on their success, even Tokiko managed a strained "good job," probably after much prodding from Oboro-sensei. The jounin in the party quickly conversed among themselves and informed them that they would be leaving Suna tomorrow. There was no reason to postpone it, no-one was hurt and needed time to recuperate. For Naruto it meant he had only the evening to meet up with Gaara. He didn't ask for permission to leave. He wasn't sure he would have gotten it, despite Tenzo's promise. He sneaked out of the window again, leaving a clone behind, not caring if he was in for another night in a cage, hoping he wouldn't be missed too soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Gaara's house~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The unnatural movement of the sand announced that his friend was home. He knocked on the door and entered.

"Hello, Gaara," he called.

"Hello," answered the sole occupant of the house. The redhead looked much better then when Naruto saw him the last time. His wounds were finally healed and his eyes weren't so haunted anymore.

"How are you?" Naruto asked.

"Better," Gaara answered like he was talking about the weather.

"I'm glad to hear it," the blond smiled. "So have you tried making new friends?"

"Not yet," the tattooed youth replied. "I have you."

"Well, listen, Gaara, that's what I came to talk about." Naruto's heart almost broke when he saw the redhead's expression. "Tenzo just told me we won't be staying for the month. We'll be training elsewhere and only return for the finals."

"So you advanced?" Gaara would have raised an eyebrow, if he had one.

"Yes," the Konoha genin confirmed, "I completely forgot to tell you. My team is in the finals."

"Congratulations."

"Thanks. I'm sorry I can't stay," the blond apologized, "but from what Tenzo said, we aren't exactly welcome here. They didn't exactly throw us out, but they as well could."

"Is this Kazekage's wish?" The Ichibi jinchuuriki sounded like he already knew the answer.

"I'm not sure," the foxy boy shrugged, "probably yes."

"He's scared." It sounded ridiculous. The Leaf genin almost burst out with laughter. Big bad Kage scared of little Naruto? "He fears our power." Gaara sounded completely serious, but then it was his default tone.

"Whatever you say," he shrugged. "It's hard to imagine someone like him scared of anything."

"He is scared of any power that isn't under his control." The vessel of Shukaku knew what he was talking about.

"From what I heard, it's common among people of power," Naruto replied sagely.

"It seems so."

"Ah, this is depressing," the short boy threw his arms into the air. "Let's talk about something else, like… like what?" There weren't many things he could talk about with Gaara without the conversation turning depressing.

"What about the Exams?" the redhead suggested. "What was it like?"

"Well, it started when the proctors made a false queue…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~River country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Konoha teams traveled through the desert quickly. Everybody just wanted to be home and there was no reason to conserve energy anymore. Everyone was excited when they spotted first vegetation in the sand and soon they crossed the borders of Wind Country and entered the lush green territory of River Country. There was where Team Tenzo bid their goodbyes to the rest of the delegation. They were staying at a small outpost belonging to Konoha for their month of training, not wanting to lose nearly three days the full trek to the Leaf Village and back would take.

Their training was as rigorous as ever, but at least they didn't have to perform mock-missions anymore. Instead they concentrated on honing their individual fighting abilities. Naruto wanted to learn some cool new jutsu, but Tenzo told him that a month was too short for this and he'd better concentrate on perfecting those he already had. The boy had to admit it was true, there were techniques in his arsenal that took him too much time to perform to be really useful in battle. Regardless of this he had a couple of clones practicing the Elemental recomposition for Fire, but thanks to the strain of the training he couldn't use as many as he would have wanted, so he didn't expect to complete it before the month was over.

The problem was that he had only a vague idea what he would be facing. He tried spying on all the finalists, but a windy season started in Suna and the omnipresent grains of sand tended to wear and pop his clones in a short time. It took him a lot of effort just to locate the other teams and when he did, he saw only the warm-ups. It left only the impression that his first opponent was fast.

But despite his initial disappointment with the training arrangements, he was glad they weren't staying in Suna. Their workouts were hard and pushing them to their limits even in the relatively moderate climate of the River Country. He couldn't imagine training like that in the heat of the desert.

He still wished he could have stayed close to Gaara. He wondered constantly how the other boy was doing. He seemed to be well on his way to recovery, but there was no telling what might happen with a father like his.

Another thing that weighted on his conscience was the fate of the Suna team they defeated in front of the Castle gates. Even though they heard there were very few deaths during the second round, they weren't able to find out about any team in particular. He somewhat came to terms with the incident, but the girl still haunted his dreams.

A whistling of air being cut by a kunai snapped him out of his reverie. He dodged it by a margin, the thrown blade cutting of a strand of his hair.

"Have you fallen asleep?" Tenzo called. "You aren't going to survive the first match if you perform like this."

Naruto returned a volley of his own kunai. "I'm perfectly alert, mind you," he shouted back.

"I don't think so," said his sensei touching his neck with the blade of his sword. 'When did he get behind me?' wondered the boy. "And you need to work on your genjutsu detecting skill," the jounin ordered. "By the rate you are going, the first genjutsu specialist is going to completely fry you." Naruto had to admit it was true. Tenzo let go of him and they resumed their combat practice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tsuchikage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryoutenbin no Oonoki was preparing for the trip to Suna. He didn't like traveling in his age, his joints weren't what they used to be anymore, but he definitely was going to the Chuunin Exams finals. He always enjoyed the fights. If it were any other Exams, he might have excused himself nevertheless, but not this time. This time his grandchildren were fighting and they would never forgive him if he didn't cheer them on.

There was also another reason that he wanted to go. When he first received the report about the massive release of demonic chakra just outside Suna, he was deeply worried. His spies had given him information on the Ichibi jinchuuriki and the perfect control over the sand he exhibited. He was rumored to be unbeatable within the desert. That somebody managed to do so was unsettling, Of course, there was the matter of Gaara being just a child, but it shouldn't have mattered if the Shukaku was unleashed.

The Tsuchikage didn't like the idea of someone else holding such power. They had their own hosts, the four and five tails, but he wasn't sure how would they fare against somebody with such power.

Oonoki had been curious who held such a perfect weapon, but his spies didn't know, but the fact that the whole incident was written off as 'friendly spar,' even though everybody knew it was anything but, narrowed down the choices. Then one of their jounin-sensei got lucky and overheard the conversation of his Konoha counterparts. The jinchuuriki was on one of Leaf's genin teams in the Exam. When the matchups for the finals came out, he wasn't surprised to find out that said team had advanced.

And that brought him to the other reason he wanted to attend the Suna finals: he wanted to see the child with his own eyes. His agents weren't able to dig up which one of the three it was, but he was sure he would know once he saw them. He also wanted to personally assess the danger said jinchuuriki possessed. Then he would decide what to do next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarutobi was sitting at his desk, puffing from his pipe. Tomorrow he would be leaving for Suna. He had to admit, he was looking forward to the trip. Homura and Koharu had tried to convince him that it couldn't possibly be good for his health at his age, but he told them in no uncertain manner that he wasn't quite that old yet, thank you very much.

He was pleased when he heard that Team Tenzo made it to the Finals. His plan on flaunting Konoha's strength was going nicely. Now if just the kids could perform well in the finals and everything would be good. He had no doubts they would put on quite a show. They even had a fair chance of getting promoted. He would wish it especially to Naruto, due to his statute within Konoha it was likely his promotion would be obstructed as much as possible. He thought the boy was still too young for the rank, but he proved he could pull through anything.

Another reason was the possibilities for bettering diplomatic relations. It would be for the first time in decades the Hokage would meet with the Tsuchikage. He had met Ryoutenbin no Oonoki before, during the peacetime between the Second and Third Great Shinobi Wars when Konoha and Iwa had been on speaking terms. They even managed to draft a treaty there, but it didn't last long. Soon after that the unrest in Suna started, the Sandaime Kazekage having disappeared mysteriously, and everybody was blaming each other. Considering how strained the relations between the Hidden Villages were at their best, it didn't take long for a war to break out. Since then, only hate existed between the Rock and the Leaf.

The animosity between their nations had been going on for too long. Maybe if he got to talk with the Sandaime Tsuchikage, they might work something out. Or maybe not. Last time he heard they still ostracized blond people in Iwa. The defeat at the Yondaime's hands must have hurt them too deep. He couldn't really fault them, considering how citizens of Konoha still felt about the Kyuubi, despite his best efforts.

A frown appeared on his forehead. How would the Tsuchikage react to seeing Naruto? The truce of the Exams would prevent him from doing anything immediately, but he might try something later. The Hokage had no real way of preventing such an action, besides maybe negotiating a treaty between them, but even though many called him an idealist, he couldn't quite see that happening.

Well, he'll have to cross the bridge when he reached it. Now the only thing that remained unresolved was who he would take as his guards for the trip. It wasn't a difficult decision. He wrote down the identifications of two ANBU he thought would appreciate it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~River Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three days before the Exams were scheduled to start the Hokage's entourage arrived to the base Team Tenzo were training at. They greeted each other and prepared to travel the rest of the journey to Suna together.

Hana wasn't surprised when she saw her mother in the entourage, but she raised an eyebrow when she noticed Kiba riding on Kuromaru's back.

"Hey, Kiba, what are you doing here?" she greeted.

"I came to watch your fight," he announced.

"Shouldn't you be at school?" The Inuzuka heiress raised an eyebrow.

"Not really," Tsume answered. "There are some reconstructions taking place on the Academy building, from what I heard a demonstration with Explosive tags went wrong, and the Academy is closed for a couple of days, until they're sure it won't fall on the children's heads. Kiba won't be losing more than a few days of instructions."

"It's not like it matters," the boy boasted. "What's a couple of days of training to such an awesome ninja as I?"

"You think you are awesome already?" his sister cocked her head sideways, much like a dog would. "You'll soon see what awesome truly means."

"I can't wait," her brother grinned.

Hotaru was startled when she saw the ANBU guarding the Hokage. One of them was a female in the mask of a lioness, sporting long purple hair. The young kunoichi recognized her immediately, but said nothing. ANBU on duty weren't supposed to have identities beside their codenames.

Even Tenzo recognized people from the guard detail. It wasn't too long since he left ANBU and he knew a lot of people there. He didn't say anything as well. There would be time to catch up with old friends later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later the evening~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo sneaked out of their quarters an hour after his team had fallen asleep. He walked the short distance to the room the ANBU guards were lodging in. He knocked on the door in a secret sequence and was answered by another coded signal. He opened the door and entered.

"Long time no see, Tenzo," the occupant of the room greeted.

"Good to see you too, Kakashi," the Wood user replied.

The silver-haired man smiled his infamous one-eyed smile. "So I see the rumors were true, you really got a genin team."

"Yes," Tenzo nodded. "How do you like them?"

"Hn, let's see," Kakashi started. "There's a girl with puppies running underfoot, then there's a decorative kunoichi wannabe and then a little kid. I don't see how you can put up with them."

"Do you have to be such a cynic? They are a good team," the jounin defended his charges. "And can you stop reading that book when I'm talking to you?"

"Yes. They are going to get killed. No." Kakashi didn't lift his single eye from his infamous orange publication.

"Figures." Tenzo sighed exasperatedly. "You're still the same old block of ice pretending to be a human being. What would it take to make you melt a bit?"

"Don't start again," the silver-haired ANBU warned him.

"Seriously, Kakashi," the Mokuton wielder didn't give up that easily. "You can't go on like that. Do you want to spend the rest of your life kneeling before the Memorial stone?"

"I don't see why does it bother you," the dog summoner shrugged. "I'm perfectly fine the way I am."

"I disagree. You're wasting away," the dark-haired man said. "Why don't you quit ANBU and take on a team? Having kids around will cheer you up."

"No." That sounded final.

"Give it a try," Tenzo prodded.

"Hokage already tried it," the masked man replied.

"And?" The former ANBU raised an eyebrow.

"I failed them," the current ANBU answered. "They were just punks who would get killed on their first mission."

"I doubt they were really that bad," Tenzo questioned.

"They were," Kakashi confirmed. "Kids today, just playing to be ninja. They have no idea what is it like out there."

"Then you should teach them," the jounin-sensei pointed out.

"No," the silver-haired man flat-out refused. "They were hopeless cases."

"You're a hopeless case," the dark-haired man sighed.

"I'm perfectly fine this way," the notorious porn-reader shrugged.

"If you say so," Tenzo threw his arms up in a defeated gesture. "Who I am to keep you from reading the same book for the sixtieth or is it the seventieth time now?"

"Seventy-third," Kakashi corrected.

"You really are unbelievable," his comrade shook his head.

"I like it that way." He turned a page in his book.

"Goodbye then."

"Goodbye."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everybody was apprehensive of the upcoming Chuunin Selection Exams Finals and the Yondaime Kazekage was no exception to the rule. He had good reasons to be.

First was that both the Hokage and the Tsuchikage were coming. Both Konoha and Iwa were on speaking terms with Suna, but the sentiment between the two of them was notorious. If he wasn't mistaken, the two Hidden Villages hadn't exchanged a single diplomatic letter since the Third Great Shinobi War. There were too many grievances on both sides, first when the Iwa ninja pushed deep into the Fire Country, then when the Yellow Flash nearly single-handedly chased them back to their mountains. Things like that couldn't be forgotten as long as its participants lived.

Too many of them still did. In fact, both villages were still governed by the same Kage. He wondered how long they would be able to hold civil conversation before they'd start exchanging thinly veiled insults. He just hoped they wouldn't start a war within his village. With Suna's military being as week as it was, damn their daimyo, they would have a lot of trouble if they had to fight. On the other hand, a war might make the retard raise their budget, but he wasn't counting on it.

The other reason was that the Konoha jinchuuriki was coming again. If he really didn't like something, it was having a weapon stronger than their best in his village. He hated the feeling that should anything happen, he wouldn't be the most powerful one in his own home. He didn't even want to think what might happen if the Konoha jinchuuriki lost control and went on a killing spree. There would be nobody capable of stopping him. The boy didn't seem unstable at all while he stayed within Suna, but appearances could be deceiving. In fact, among ninja they usually were. He had too much experience with Gaara to believe that any human weapon can be possibly sane.

Speaking of which, there seemed to be at least one positive outcome of the disastrous battle. Ever since it happened, Gaara hadn't killed anybody. If the reports were true, he even stopped threatening people regularly. It sounded like a dream come true. The Kazekage just waited for it to turn into a nightmare. There was just no way a psychopath like Gaara could suddenly become a reasonable person, but he enjoyed the respite while it lasted.

He sighed. Those were matters outside his control and worrying about them accomplished nothing, no matter how much he wished it wasn't so. He'd better do something more productive, like check on the Finals preparations. It just wouldn't do if they botched something in front of so many important guests. Especially the Wind Country Daimyo would see it as a reason to cut their funds even further. And maybe if he saw they were doing well, he might think they don't need as much money as they have now.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. He felt a major headache coming. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't find a solution to his situation. If just the Daimyo decided to drop dead suddenly, it might solve all their trouble, but that insufferable man was still young and completely healthy, so there was little hope there. He briefly wished he could just order the assassination of the man, but his personal guards weren't from Suna and they didn't get their funding cut. There was little hope there as well.

He stood up from his table. There was no point dwelling on such thoughts. He'd go and check on the Arena. Maybe a stroll would clear his head and chase away the migraine. He walked out of his office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back in Suna~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So tomorrow's the day," Hotaru said. They were back in their old hotel room in Suna. "Are you scared?"

"Why do you ask?" Hana shot back. "Are you scared?"

Hotaru was. She couldn't help but remember how her first Exam Finals ended. That didn't mean she would admit it aloud. "Scared? Me? Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not," the Inuzuka replied. "I just have a good nose."

"You're no fun," the purple-haired girl muttered.

One of Hana's dogs barked. "You're right," said its mistress. "She does have a weird sense of humor."

"Hey!" The skimpily-clad girl scowled.

"Just admit you're both anxious and leave it at that," Naruto suggested.

"And what about you?" Hotaru teased. "I bet you won't be able to sleep tonight again, little boy."

"Hey!" Now it was Naruto's turn to defend himself. "I'll let you know, I'm not scared at all."

"Woof!" "Hn," Hana replied, "somebody disagrees."

"And how does that somebody feel?" the blond asked looking at the dog in question. The animal, still a puppy, though now considerably bigger than when the team first formed, wagged its tail innocently. "I wait to see whether you'll be such a tough guy tomorrow."

"Don't insult my dogs," the Inuzuka scowled.

"Tell them to stop making puppy eyes on me," he retorted.

"They can't help it, they are still puppies," Hana pointed out.

"That's not my problem," he retorted.

Naruto finished sharpening his ninjato. "I'll head to bed. I'm tired."

"Already?" Hotaru raised an eyebrow. "You aren't trying to sneak off again then?"

"Hey!" The blond looked scandalized although it was exactly what he was planning to do. He hoped he could see Gaara before the Exams started.

"Tenzo-sensei told us to keep an extra close eye on you," Hana added.

"I'm wounded," the boy pouted. "Doesn't he trust me at all?"

"Do you really want me to answer this?"

Naruto recognized that there was really no choice for him but to head to bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Arena~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning of the Exams finals dawned bright and clear, as was usual in Suna. Everybody headed for the Arena to witness the events.

The twelve finalists lined up in the sand on the arena floor. They stood there at attention, all of them trying to look tough and proud, hiding their anxiety from both their peers and the audience.

Furthest right stood an unassuming boy with long brown hair dressed in a strange robe-like garb with an eye-catching collar, the typical clothing of members of Kamizuru clan from Iwa. He was Kamizuru Kageromaru, member of the once proud clan which could boast being related to the First Tsuchikage, but currently they were on hard times. He couldn't wait to show everybody that his clan still hadn't lost its strength and most importantly show up his snotty teammates.

One of them was standing next to him, a giant redhead boy with a round face and rotund body dressed in standard shinobi pants and shirt with a black bandanna and a green scarf around his neck. His name was Akatsuchi and he was grandson of the Sandaime Tsuchikage. Looking at him it was hard to believe he was really related to the short man, but there was undeniable likeness between the two of them. He was confident he could make Chuunin here. Their sensei waited a whole year after he considered them ready to make sure they would breeze through the Exams with little trouble. So far his strategy was working.

Third in line was his sister Kurotsuchi. She was a slim girl with chin-length black hair showing off her feminine assets via a tight red top, red miniskirt and a lot of mesh. She was not to be underestimated though, as she possessed a shrewd mind, ambitious nature and considerable combat ability. She was here to show everybody the might of Iwa kunoichi.

To her left a giant black feline was sitting and on its side its master, Akira from the proud Kineko clan of Sunagakure. He was dressed in standard Suna shinobi attire with a leather vest with a fur-rimmed cape. He simply believed himself to be the best member of an awesome team and wanted to show everybody up. His clan members tended to be like that.

His teammate standing next to him would dispute which one of them was better. He was Shinkudai Toshiro and he was determined to prove that brute strength really could win you any match. His clan was known for their great size and enormous muscles, being one of the very few ninja clans still wearing samurai-style armor and carrying big weapons. There weren't many things that could stop a charging Shinkudai.

The only kunoichi of his team was last in the first half of the combatants. She was known as Mizue. She wasn't tall or muscular, but she was quite fast and agile. Her knee-length braids seemed utterly impractical for a shinobi, but many an enemy learned the hard way how incorrect that assumption was. She wasn't as confident as her teammates, but she couldn't wait to test her personal fighting style against capable opponents.

The second half of competitors was started by a short boy with a baby face clad in grayish blue robe-like clothing distinguishing him as a member of the Aoyume clan of Suna. The clan wasn't big or famous, tending to produce only average ninja, but Daiki was determined to change it. Since early childhood he was hailed as a prodigy, his family's ability being the strongest in him, stronger than had appeared in generations. He was determined to utilize it to his best and bring prestige back to his clan.

Next stood his teammate, a girl in short sandy-colored kimono with absurdly long and wide sleeves decorated by motives of dunes, her ginger hair done up in an elaborate bun held by many ornamental needles. Many people wondered why she wore such an obviously expansive outfit to battle, but Kaede always refused to answer. She preferred practical demonstration and she was prepared to give one soon.

Then came the last of Suna shinobi, the puppet master Gennosuke, a plain boy clad in long ocher robes. Behind him stood his puppet, named Hisan Uma, crafted like a giant horse. He just yearned to show everybody what Suna puppeteers were made of.

Then came the trio of Konoha genin, first of them Inuzuka Hana surrounded by the Haimaru triplets. She came here to prove that she wasn't useless despite the fate of her first team and show everybody the might of an Inuzuka, especially the obnoxious cat boy.

Uzuki Hotaru was the second to last, and looking at the competition she was getting second thoughts. But she wasn't backing away. All the training must have amounted to something and she felt like she could put up a good fight now.

The line was closed by Uzumaki Naruto, the smallest and youngest of all the competitors. Some people wondered what was such a child doing there, but he was determined to prove that he earned his place there. He was going to win the fight and earn a promotion. Dattebayo.

They stood silently, waiting for the Finals to begin.

* * *

A.N. That's it for now. I know it was slow, but next time the first match is coming, so there will be plenty of action soon.

Next time: The tournament begins


	19. The first match

**A.N.:** Thanks to everybody who reviewed. Thanks to you the last chapter had the highest number of reviews despite having the lowest number of hits on the first day in a lot of chapters. My muse is satisfied and is back with a vengeance.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Nothing more to say.**

* * *

Temari was sitting in one of the VIP booths in the Arena. As the Kazekage's daughter she could afford it. She was also required to attend such events, but she decided to overlook that part. She had attended one Chuunin Exams Finals in Suna before and she had absolutely loved the event. The only thing spoiling her mood was her younger brother Kankuro blabbering like a kid half his age.

She was a big girl now, or so she claimed. She had graduated the Academy recently and went everywhere in her brand new blue ninja dress with her hitai-ate tied around her upper arm, her giant fan hauled on her back. It was too big for her small frame, it often dragged on the ground and she couldn't use it properly yet, but such things didn't matter to the twelve-year-old girl. She was a ninja now and she wanted to appear as such.

"That's a stupid-looking puppet," Kankuro commented. "Karasu is much cooler."

"You haven't seen it in action yet," she reminded him.

"It can't be better than mine," he scoffed. "In case you don't know, Karasu was made by Sasori of the Red Sands himself."

"Of course I know," she scowled. "You bring it up only about thrice a day."

"That's because it's so awesome," he puffed.

"It doesn't matter how awesome the puppet is when the puppeteer isn't," she muttered.

"What was that?" Kankuro narrowed his eyes. "I'll let you know, I'm going to be the best puppeteer Suna has ever seen!"

"I can't see it happening by the rate you are going," she replied.

"Just you wait, sister," he boasted.

"You're such a kid," she chided. "If you're really so awesome, why haven't you graduated yet?" She turned in such a way to show him her hitai-ate. She liked to show it off the same as her brother showed off his puppet, but she would smack anyone who would point it out. She was a big ninja and Kankuro just a stupid little kid in an equally stupid catsuit with a stupid tendency to get mad when somebody commented on his fashion sense, or lack thereof.

"Ranks are overrated anyway," he claimed. Temari just smirked. Her brother was so easy to tease. "Just look at who's competing today. I see four decorative girls and a little shrimp there. This is going to be boring."

"Dunderhead," she scowled. "You don't know what are you talking about. That shrimp, as you just called him, beat Him."

"What?" Kankuro blinked in disbelief. "You don't mean that little stupid-looking kid could beat Gaara?"

"Don't call Naruto that." Both Temari and Kankuro stiffened. The object of their conversation just walked into the booth.

The youngest of the Kazekage's children had changed significantly since his lost battle. He had stopped threatening people to crush them with his sand and started trying to make friends instead. It was just plain creepy in Kankuro's opinion. Gaara was the whacko who was supposed to go around killing everybody who looked at him wrong. This new personality freaked him out. He just waited for when the redhead would inevitably slip back into his old murderous self.

Temari had a different opinion. Even though she rarely thought about it, Gaara was still her brother. He scared her just like he did everybody else, but she could also see what life was for him. There were times when she wanted to change it, but she was too scared to try anything. She had no desire to end up as fodder for the thing Gaara called 'Mother.' But now, when somebody else managed to reach through the shell of sand to the child inside, she wasn't about to throw the opportunity away. If her little brother got better, she didn't want him to suffer a relapse.

"It's nice you joined us," she smiled, even if it was a bit forced. "Kankuro didn't mean it like that." Her middle brother looked at her like she had just sprouted a second head. "He's going to apologize, aren't you, Kankuro?" Her tone left no doubt that he'd better obey or else. Somehow in that moment she scared him more than Gaara. It was quite a feat.

"S-sure," he stuttered. "I didn't mean it." He tried to covertly to get as far from the redhead as possible, which in the small booth wasn't much.

"Apology accepted," Gaara said. He had no idea what he should say, but he thought he should say something. He then sat on the bench next to his siblings.

"So you came here to watch the finals?" It was a stupid question, but Temari couldn't think of anything else to start a conversation. She didn't even know whether starting a conversation was a good idea at all, but she tried it nevertheless.

"Yes." Gaara didn't even turn to her, instead watching the arena intently.

"So who do you think would win?" She tried it again.

"Naruto," the youngest of the three answered with absolute conviction. Figures. Gaara wasn't much of a conversationalist, but she already knew that. She gave up her attempts at small talk. They sat there together in silence. It might not have seemed like much, but she felt like they made a huge step in mending their relationship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Kazekage was the first one to arrive. He sat in his chair and surveyed the occupants of the arena below. Whole half of them were from Suna. That wasn't bad, but it wasn't good enough either. They had designed the Exams purposefully to favor their own, everybody did that, and he had expected better results. And to top it, the Suna teams who advanced weren't exactly the pride of their village. Oh, they were strong, no doubt about that, but they had all a reputation for being… odd, to put it mildly. Considering whom their senseis were, it was no wonder. He could just pray they wouldn't do anything to embarrass Suna too badly, he had already explained to them what would happen if they did.

His musings were cut short by the arrival of the Hokage. He rose from his seat to greet the elderly leader of Konoha properly.

"Welcome to Sunagakure, Hokage-sama. I trust you had a pleasant journey."

"It was as pleasant as a trek through the desert can be," Sarutobi replied diplomatically. The Kazekage wanted to ask how pleasant could it be in his age, but refrained. It was no need to antagonize another Kage any more than he already was. "I trust it's peaceful here in Suna. It would be very unfortunate if there were any incidents during the Exams."

The Kazekage mentally sighed. It was just a matter of time when the Hokage would bring this up. "I assure, you, Hokage-sama, that we made extra precautions to ensure the peace of the Exams won't be broken."

"I'm glad to hear this," Sarutobi replied. Before he could say anything else, the Tsuchikage entered the balcony. The atmosphere immediately tensed. Here two old enemies were meeting, barred by the temporary truce from doing anything to each other. That however didn't prevent them on remarking how the other had aged since they met the last time. Even Sarutobi, who wanted to improve their relationship, just couldn't help it after Oonoki had commented on his wrinkles.

The Kazekage, seeing that the situation was about to spiral out of control, decided to intervene.

"If you excuse me, the Exams are about to start. We shouldn't delay it needlessly by discussing politics. I organized a banquet for the finalists tomorrow evening. The successful candidates would be announced there and there would be enough time to discuss whatever you wish."

"Fine with me," the Tsuchikage replied. He didn't come here to make politics, he wanted to see the Finals and he didn't like waiting. He also agreed that words can sometimes accomplish more than weapons, so the opportunity for a later talk seemed fortunate for him.

"I agree as well," the Hokage said. Doing politics in a rush was never his style. He preferred the serene atmosphere of an official gathering.

"If that is settled, we should start the Finals," the Kazekage said. His two counterparts nodded and sat down in the prepared chairs.

The Tsuchikage surveyed the twelve genin lined up down in the arena. He noticed his grandchildren looking at him and he flashed them a smile. Not too obvious, a Kage must always retain his dignity, but family was family. He felt pride looking at them. Both were strong, skilled, cunning and ruthless, prime examples of what Iwa shinobi should be. He had no doubts they would earn their promotions here and had high hopes of one of them winning the finals. That is if they don't fall against a much stronger opponent.

That brought him to the source of his discomfort. He turned his attention to the Konoha team. There they stood, two girls and a boy, and three dogs, but they didn't count, silent, waiting for the Finals to start. He wondered which one of them was the jinchuuriki.

There was the girl from Inuzuka clan. The three dogs were sitting at her feet. She looked competent. He immediately dismissed her. In his experience demon vessels were feared by animals.

Next to her stood a purple girl in a skimpy outfit. She looked a bit like a seduction specialist to him, but the handle of a sword protruding over her shoulder suggested she was fierce in combat as well. She was a more likely candidate.

Then there stood the only boy in the team. He was short and looked by far the youngest of them. While his teammates appeared to be thirteen or fourteen, he looked seven or eight. It was extremely rare for somebody that young to enter the Exams. He must be really special. He took a closer look at him, covertly, of course. It would be unbecoming of his stature to be openly so curious about a genin. His eyesight wasn't as good as it used to be, but he could still discern a lot.

He couldn't tell much about his figure through the loose-fitting jumpsuit, but he was holding himself straight, like a trained fighter, but so were all ninja. He had a sword, marking him as a short-ranged type of shinobi, but his small stature wasn't too favorable for close combat. There must be some ace in the hole.

There was also the question of their age. Konoha wasn't known for having a jinchuuriki previously, it wasn't even associated with Bijuu after the Shodai Hokage got rid of his collection. The only intel mentioning the Leaf village and a demon together was the Kyuubi attack nine years ago. The Tsuchikage closed his eyes briefly and remembered the time when he had learned that the dreaded Yellow Flash had finally kicked the bucket. He had thrown a banquet for the occasion.

Speaking of the devil, the boy here had the same shade of hair. Could it be? Nah, he must be imagining things. At least he hoped so. Once the suspicion rooted in his brain, it was impossible to forget. Due to his age, this boy was the likeliest candidate for the jinchuuriki. He would be observing him carefully.

The Hokage watched the lineup as well. Unlike the Tsuchikage, he wasn't plotting anything, merely assessing the competitors and trying to guess what chances the Konoha genin had.

The Kazekage stood up and walked to the railing.

"Greetings to all who came here today," he began his speech. "We hope you will enjoy the final matches of the Chuunin Selection Exams. The tournament may begin now." He sat back into his chair.

Maruishi walked up to the lined-up contestants. "The rules of the finals are simple," he started recounting. "There will be one-on-one matches, everything is allowed. The match ends when one participant is dead or when I say so. There will be special rules for the final three-way fight, in case none of the three finalists forfeits. Now the first match is between Kaede of Suna and Uzumaki Naruto. You two pleas step forward, everybody else leave the arena floor."

The ten genin turned and walked away. Only the two named remained.

Naruto walked to the center of the arena slowly, trying to show as much dignity as he could muster. Tenzo's words from earlier this morning still resounded in his mind. He must present a strong front to show off the power of Konoha. He desperately tried to keep his hands from shaking. He was nervous. He had never felt that way before a fight before, mostly because his previous battles tended to start so suddenly he simply didn't have time to be jittery, he was too preoccupied with simply staying alive. But this time he had a full month of anticipation and it showed. He could only hope that once the fight starts, his worries would disappear.

His opponent calmly strode across the sandy ground inside the stadium like she owned it. The long sleeves of her kimono flowed behind her in the breeze and her feet in high sandals barely left any trace in the sand. The Konoha genin briefly wished he could move with the some elegance. Then he decided it didn't matter. The only thing of importance here was who would win and who would lose.

They came to a stop near the middle of the circular arena. They eyed each other with impassive faces, both hiding they agitation. The crowds cheered loudly, mostly for the local competitor. The proctor briefly made sure they were both prepared, then waved his hand.

"Begin," he called and disappeared in a shunshin.

The Suna kunoichi wasted no time. She swung one of her arms in a wide arc, the sleeve raising a gust of wind. "Fuuton: Cutting Gale," she whispered. A barely perceptible distortion in the air was the only thing that betrayed the presence of dangerously sharp blades.

Naruto didn't wait for them to hit. The moment Kaede first raised her arm his hands were already forming seals. 'Fuuton: Wind shield' was the technique of his choice. The air in front of him moved and rippled, the chakra infusing it dispersing the technique, changing it into a harmless breeze.

The blond boy didn't wait for another attack. With another series of handsigns he called forth a dozen of Shadow Clones and had them charge at the girl. She was unfazed. She swung her other sleeve and destroyed the attacking doppelgangers. They disappeared in quickly dispersing clouds of smoke. The original was nowhere to be seen.

She jumped from her position fully expecting some form of attack to hit the spot she had been standing on. Nothing of the like happened. The young genin remained unaccounted for.

She checked for possible hiding spots. There weren't any. So unless the pesky child could become invisible, he must be underground. Unfortunately she didn't know any Earth technique to force him out. She'll just have to wait for him to come out. And then she'll be prepared to welcome him properly.

Naruto meanwhile was considering his options. The fight barely started and he already discerned that the kunoichi had a move that was both a powerful offense and effective defense. And to boot it she could execute it within a moment. There was no telling what else she might have up her enormous sleeves. This called for caution, and most importantly more information. He crawled into position, released the transformation giving him the form of a lizard and started his plan.

Kaede heard a small rustle behind her. She jumped to the side, whirling in the air, and released another of her signature Cutting Gales in the direction her opponent suddenly emerged from. She saw him forming another batch of clones. She smirked. Didn't the kid learn anything? She'll just destroy them all.

Almost as if the replicas could read her thoughts, they screamed. Her smirk widened, then disappeared. That was some kind of jutsu coming at her. Her right arm came up in a defensive gesture, with it a wind picked up, lifting the sand from the ground and creating a protective wall in front of her.

The original Naruto spat out a fire jutsu and let it be fed from the winds. His training with Fire elemental manipulation, though incomplete, was paying off. Blazing blue flames roared up in the middle of the arena. Before they could die down, a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye made him duck. A long kimono sleeve passed through the space his head had occupied just a fraction of second before. 'How did she get behind me so fast?' he wondered briefly. The Suna Kunoichi pressed her charge.

Her taijutsu was good, she was fast and her sleeves were charged with Wind chakra turning them into nearly unstoppable blades. He had to put some distance between them or he was screwed.

Two of his clones attacked the girl from behind, making her to pause in her attack to dispose of them. It was all Naruto needed. He jumped back and unsheathed his sword. He sent his own Wind chakra into the blade, making an extension appear. He could now double the length of the weapon this way.

The other competitor was upon him again. He swung his ninjato, but she nimbly evaded. Then both her sleeves were closing in on him. A sealless Kawarimi with his last remaining clone got him out of the range of the danger, but he knew his respite would be brief. He needed a strategy and quick. But first he needed time to devise one. Another group of clones was sent to slaughter, but they provided enough cover for him to henge again and disappear from the girl's field of view. Unless she caught on his trick, he should have plenty of time to think in peace. He proceeded to wrack his brain.

The problem was he couldn't hit her, she was just too fast for him. He might try a firestorm encompassing the whole arena, but he wasn't trying to kill her, and he had to consider the spectators' safety as well. He'd have to slow her down somehow, or maybe lure her into a trap. The obvious pitfall of such tactics was that there was no way he could prepare something without her noticing. He mentally went through his list of techniques and equipment at hand, deciding what might stand a chance at hitting her.

Kaede was getting frustrated. That obnoxious child had vanished again. She couldn't fault him for hiding, but it was slowly but surely trying her patience. She wanted to flush him out and beat him senseless. Now if she could just figure out how he kept pulling his disappearing act.

Then suddenly an attack came. She turned and swung her sleeve at the offender. He jumped out of range. She pursued. She noticed a group of clones running around the arena. She moved to destroy them, but the original jumped at her again and she was forced to dodge. She attacked with another swipe of her sleeve. Naruto responded with a Slicing scream. She threw her arm in front of her face to prevent an injury, but her sleeve now sported several tears. The Konoha shinobi slashed with his sword again. A step back took her out of the danger zone. She was already swinging her undamaged sleeve, chakra oozing from the special fabric. Her opponent couldn't dodge. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

A clone? Impossible, she had put some scratches on him as soon as he first appeared. Kawarimi, then. But where is he now?

The sound of blades sailing through the air snapped her out of her reverie. The clones that had been running around now stood around her in a circle, their arms still upraised after throwing their kunai. She noticed something on the handles of the throwing knives. Explosive tags? No, that wasn't it. Not that it mattered. One swift move of her arms lifted up wind and sand into a protective dome around her. The projectiles were thrown off course, most of them dispersing, being just chakra constructs.

The wall also obscured her vision, which was exactly what the blond had hoped to accomplish. He withdrew a scroll from his utility pouch and unsealed its contents. It looked like a number of kunai with some ninja wire attached. He threw it at his opponent.

The winds around Kaede died down and the dust slowly settled. It revealed another set of kunai closing on to her. She smirked derogatorily and threw her arms up in her signature defensive move. Then an explosion threw her off her feet.

Now it was Naruto's turn to smirk. The two seals on the kunai had paid off. One of them was just a simple explosive tag, the other was a weight seal. He'd have to thank Kanou for teaching him that one. It made the weapon much harder to throw, but also much harder to block. Just as he expected, it had landed close to the girl, the kunoichi suspecting nothing.

Now she was propelled forward, right into the net rapidly descending on her. Before she could shake off the damage from the blast, she was enveloped by chakra resistant steel wire. Now she was slowed down sufficiently. He charged for an attack.

The Sand kunoichi cursed under her breath. The wires were seriously restricting her movement. She couldn't swing her sleeves to raise wind and she couldn't run. But she wasn't out of options yet. She was more then ready to show the little brat what she was made of.

A fistful of senbon slid into her hand from a holster concealed on her forearm. A flick of her wrist sent them flying towards her fast approaching opponent. Naruto saw them flying and jumped high overhead. One of the needles still marked his ankle drawing blood. He ignored the minuscule wound.

Then another senbon barrage was launched from the girls other hand. He had no chance to dodge in midair. He switched with one of his clones, appearing now behind her back. He resumed his attack.

Kaede scrambled to her feet, frantically trying to untangle herself from the net. She already tried cutting it with chakra, but the wires proved to be extremely resistant. And the child was closing on her again. If she couldn't do something fast, she would lose to a child a little over half her age and she just wouldn't survive the shame. She looked for something she could switch with. Unfortunately the arena floor was barren and the only human-sized things down there were her opponent and his clones. She had never managed a Kawarimi with another person. She tried it anyway. It had the expected result – nothing. It just cost her a precious second.

She had to unleash her last defense. She somehow managed to lift her arm to her head and pluck out the decorative needles from her hairdo. She flung them at her enemy.

Naruto reckoned they weren't just for distraction, but he had no idea what they could do. He decided not to stick around to find out. He switched with a clone on the other side of the stadium. He wasn't a second too early. The decorative parts of the needles exploded and covered the area in a sickly greenish smoke. The Konoha genin thought it was probably some kind of poison. He'd have to be extra careful from now on. She had still more in her hair.

He reached into his poach and took out four kunai with explosive tags. He originally didn't want to use them, intending to spare them for tougher situations, but it looked like he had no choice. When he couldn't get close to the girl, he'd have to take her out from the distance, and he didn't know a technique that would knock her out from that far away. He could try the Great Breakthrough, but it tended to just knock people around, not out, and he couldn't risk her getting out of the net.

The four weapons were launched into the air. The kunoichi saw them and tried to knock them off course with her senbon. The kunai had more inertia and continued only slightly off their intended trajectories. They landed close to the still trapped girl. She desperately tried for another wind barrier, but managed only a gentle breeze.

The notes on the kunai flared for a moment, then exploded. Kaede braced herself for the impact and somehow managed to remain conscious after the blast, but she was badly burnt and shaken, lying on the ground disoriented, unable to get up. Her ears were ringing and there were bright spots dancing in front of her eyes.

Naruto didn't waste a moment. He ran up to his downed opponent and placed his sword on her neck. "Do you yield," he asked. She didn't answer. She couldn't even hear him.

The proctor appeared in the arena again. "Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!"

The Konoha genin sighed in relief. He did it! He won his first match in the Chuunin exams. He bowed to the cheering crowds. He gathered his discarded weapons, especially the net, and watched the medics carry the defeated Wind user to the hospital. Then he left the arena to make place for the next pair of competitors.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So what do you think?" asked the Kazekage.

'That is the question,' though the Tsuchikage. What did he think about it? That Uzumaki boy was strong, not just for his age, but compared to other genin as well. He didn't see him using anything resembling His techniques, he wasn't even particularly fast, but the short man could even now say that the child had the potential to grow into a powerful ninja, true elite of his village. Even at his age the boy was skilled and he had loads of chakra to throw around. Oonoki was certain that his first guess about the identity of the jinchuuriki was correct.

"Kaede is fast and skilled at what she does, but she seems to be overly dependant on just one technique," the Hokage summed up his observations.

"But she has a backup strategy as well," the Kazekage pointed out.

"Not good enough," the Tsuchikage said. "The boy was dominating the fight. He gathered information at first and then used it to launch a devastating strike. But he seemed to be pulling his punches. That would get him killed in a real fight."

"So would you vote for either of them?"

"At that point no, but I'll see what else has the boy to show."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Spectators' stands~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wow," said Kiba wide-eyed. "I had no idea he was so good."

"So you now see why you have to train more?" Tsume asked with a smug smile.

"Yes," he nodded, before regaining his usual attitude. "You'll see, mum, in no time I'll be just as good as him!"

"I'll remember it," she promised.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Finalists booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Good fight, Naruto," Hana congratulated him with a smile.

"Thanks," he smiled back.

"Couldn't you finish her off earlier?" Hotaru teased.

"Didn't you see how fast she was?" he objected. "It was all I could do not to get skewered."

"I could have done it faster," scoffed the dog mistress.

"You'll have your chance to shine soon," the purple-haired girl reminded her.

"I'll rip cat-boy to pieces in no time, you'll see," the Inuzuka boasted.

"I think Akira would disagree," a new voice entered the conversation. It was cat-boy's female teammate Mizue, Hotaru's first opponent.

"He might disagree all he wants," Hotaru said, "Hana's going to rip him to pieces and I'm going to do the same to you."

"You'll welcome to try," the long-braided girl shot back.

"Stop it," Akira said, "Toshiro's fight is about to start."

Mizue immediately forgot the baiting and leaned over the railing. Sure enough, down in the arena the two contestants were preparing for their battle.

"Aren't you a bit scared, Naruto?" Hotaru teased.

"Why should I be?" he raised an eyebrow.

"You're going to face one of them in the next round," she elaborated. "They look like they could kill you with one hit."

"Then I mustn't get hit," he answered simply. "And they make pretty big targets for my jutsu."

"So which one you think would win?" The purple-haired kunoichi asked.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "and be quiet now. The match is going to start."

* * *

Next time: A couple of quarterfinal matches (what else, duh).


	20. Giants, bees and horses

**A.N.:** Here comes another chapter. Sorry this one is a bit shorter, but there are only certain places where I can cut it.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

"The second match of the quarterfinals, Akatsuchi of Iwa against Shinkudai Toshiro of Suna," announced Maruishi loudly.

The combatants for the second match walked into the arena. They presented a sharp contrast to the previous two. While the participants in the first match were both short and slender, those two were big and muscular, both of them promising to become real giants of men once they fully grow up. Somehow it seemed inappropriate that the ground didn't shake under their footsteps.

They stopped in the middle of the circular battleground and measured each other with stony expression, trying to intimidate each other. It wasn't working.

The proctor decided to cut their staring contest short. "Begin," he signaled and disappeared from the arena in a swirl of sand. The two contestants wasted little time. Toshiro lifted his giant straightsword and ran at Akatsuchi. The Iwa genin wasn't idle as well. His fingers flew through a short sequence of handseals and a wall of stone rose from the ground in front of the charging Shinkudai clan member. The boy in the samurai style armor had to jump high to avoid smashing his face on it. The Tsuchikage's grandson was waiting for him. With a speed belying his size he avoided the sword and punched the still airborne genin into the ribs. The samurai-like armor absorbed most of the hit, but Toshiro was sent flying nevertheless. Akatsuchi ran after him before he even landed.

Even the Suna genin was deceptively fast for his size. He rolled on the ground and pointed his weapon at the approaching combatant. The Iwa ninja had to swerve abruptly to avoid being pierced through. It was all the time the Shinkudai needed to get to his feet. He hefted his enormous sword and attempted to skewer his opponent again.

The big Rock shinobi came to the conclusion that a taijutsu battle would do him little to no good. He jumped back to gain distance and attempted to cast a jutsu. His opponent was dead set on preventing him from finishing the handseals. Akatsuchi managed despite having to dodge the giant blade in the process. The ground under Toshiro's feet shifted and he jumped up just in time to avoid being grabbed by stone hands that suddenly formed from the sand. The Iwa genin threw a couple of kunai while he wasn't able to dodge. The Suna chuunin hopeful scoffed. His armor was strong and couldn't be penetrated so easily. Then he noticed the already burning tag on the handle. He threw his arms in front of his face. The blast inflicted little damage, but he was flung backwards.

He rolled on the ground for a moment before he was halted by slamming into something hard. It was a rock pillar. He was certain it hadn't been there before. Alarm bells sounded in his head and he pushed himself upwards with all his might. He almost didn't make it. Another stone pillar tried to squeeze him on the first, but it slid on the smooth surface of his armor. He escaped the trap with only a couple of scratches on his attire. It had been uncomfortably close for his comfort.

Glancing at his opponent, he noticed that the redheaded Iwa boy just finished another seal sequence and slammed his palm on the ground. A crack appeared in the arena floor, the sand falling into it. It headed straight for Toshiro. The genin in red armor didn't wait for it to reach him. He jumped out of the way, but the crack changed its course. He had to dodge again. And again.

Finally the jutsu came to its end. The Shinkudai let out a breath of relief and readied his weapon for another charge. Akatsuchi rose from his crouching position preparing for an attack as well. His hands were already prepared to cast another jutsu.

Toshiro pumped chakra to his legs and charged. Akatsuchi's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, he had no idea his opponent was capable of such speed, then he slammed his hands to the ground again. Stone spikes rose from the sand threatening to impale the speeding genin. He avoided them by jumping high.

Akatsuchi smirked. The Suna genin was becoming predictable. He changed the flow of energy in his technique. Now it was the Suna boy's time to be startled.

The airborne combatant didn't even have time to swear. A spike bigger than the others formed right in front of him. He had only a moment before he slammed into it. He barely managed to put his sword into a defensive position before the impact.

It felt, unsurprisingly, like hitting a rock. His weapon was torn from his grip and the spike slammed into his stomach painfully. Breath left him in a huff. He fell to the ground, hitting a few more spikes in his descent.

The Tsuchikage's grandson smiled victoriously. He moved in to finish his opponent. It turned out he was celebrating prematurely. Shinkudai clansmen were tough, as he learned the hard way when Toshiro's fist impacted with his chin with no warning. He stumbled backwards. His opponent scrambled to his feet and jumped out of the spiked area. He took a scroll from his pouch and unsealed a giant spiked mace. His stomach was hurting, his armor was dented and he was in an exceptionally bad mood. He'll make the arrogant Iwa upstart pay for what he had done to him. He was going to crush him.

Akatsuchi smirked at his opponent's anger. He was prone to making mistakes before, now he was bound to become even more reckless and make a fatal one, not to mention that he was clearly in pain. It was going to be a walk in the park from now on.

The Suna genin attacked with a roar. He wielded the giant mace like it weighted nothing. The Iwa ninja knew it to be deceptive. One hit from that thing and he would be done for. He didn't plan on getting hit. He prepared to unleash another technique.

Toshiro almost didn't notice the boulder rising from the ground before his foot caught on it. He stumbled and tried to regain his balance. It proved to be a hard task because there were suddenly rocks appearing everywhere around. He slammed his weapon in one of them shattering it and used it like a pole to jump over the danger zone. He tried to kick his adversary in the face, but the redhead from Iwagakure dodged without trouble. The Shinkudai landed on his feet and lifted his weapon for another blow. Akatsuchi didn't wait for him. He darted forward and with a burst of speed he hadn't exhibited before he appeared inside the other boy's guard. He punched his already injured stomach with all his might.

The genin in the samurai armor had barely enough time to shift and make the blow slide on his chest plate. He prevented the worst damage, but he was sent flying sideways anyway. The Rock ninja was upon him in an instant.

But Toshiro was a Shinkudai and his clan was renowned for being resilient. He pushed the pain to the back of his mind and swung his mace. Akatsuchi managed to lift his hand for a block and somehow avoid all the spikes, but his arm felt broken. He cursed and jumped back to assess the damage. He moved his fingers first, then hand, then the whole forearm. It hurt like hell, but it moved without any resistance. It seemed it wasn't broken after all, but he guessed the bone was cracked. No time to fool around, he'd have to finish it quickly.

He forced his fingers into the appropriate positions for seals. He had to bite his lips to prevent a howl of pain from coming out. He had hoped he wouldn't have to use that, but in order to achieve a swift victory he was forced to utilize his best technique.

Toshiro didn't know what hit him. One moment he was running at his opponent, the next he was falling because the ground suddenly disappeared from under his feet. He looked down in surprise. There was an abyss opening its maw, threatening to swallow him whole. He threw his humongous weapon to the side to give himself some momentum. He caught the edge of the hole and propelled himself upward. His feet stuck in something. One look down revealed that the abyss closed again, imprisoning his legs in hard earth. It refused to budge. He tried to use a Kawarimi ('why didn't it occur to me before?' he wondered), but something prevented him from doing so. He was in a pinch, but he still refused to give up.

"You're caught," the Tsuchikage's grandson called. "Do you yield?"

The Shinkudai just formed some seals in response, taking a deep breath simultaneously. He raised his hands to his mouth and blew out. A huge fireball formed aiming to envelope the Rock chuunin-hopeful. Akatsuchi simply performed a quick Kawarimi and appeared behind the trapped boy. The Sand genin sensed him, but he couldn't turn to him. The redhead smashed his fist into his helmet. It felt like he broke the bones on his other hand as well, but it served its purpose. Toshiro slumped down unconscious.

The proctor reappeared in the arena to confirm the fact. "Winner: Akatsuchi of Iwa," he announced. The Rock genin didn't feel overly elated. Sure, he had won, but it took him too much time and he even sustained a hindering injury. This shouldn't have happened. He was the Tsuchikage's descendant, elite of Iwagakure, and his opponent was just some nobody from a lesser clan of such a weak village as Suna. He should have crushed him within the first minute. He could already hear what his grandfather would have to say to it. On a lighter note, his next opponent would be that snotty Konoha kid. He had shown some level of competence in his first round, but nothing that could endanger him. He would enjoy that fight. He hated Leaf shinobi with a passion. Especially the blond ones. His father had died during the last days of the Third Shinobi War after his battalion unexpectedly ran into the Yellow Flash. Yes, he was sure he'd relish crushing that kid.

He left the arena to get medical treatment before the next round.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The Shinkudai is strong and good with his weapons, but he has little to none strategy," the Tsuchikage said. "He stood no chance against somebody like Akatsuchi." The pride he felt was palpable in his voice. His grandson had faced a strong opponent and clearly prevailed.

"While this is true," the Hokage said, "he forced your grandson to use too much of his chakra. That is a valid strategy itself."

"It might work against weaker opponents, but it doesn't make him worthy of becoming chuunin," the Kazekage objected.

"That is true," Sarutobi agreed.

The Kazekage silently fumed. Second match and his shinobi had lost again. Even though he fully expected it in the first round, it was a blow to Suna's pride nevertheless. And to make matters worse, it had to happen in the presence of their daimyo. It was all he could do not to glare daggers at that man. There'd better be somebody to redeem their reputation soon or else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Finalists' booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ouch," Mizue said wincing. "That had to hurt. And you know how Toshiro is with a headache."

"Yes," Akira nodded, "but you should be more worried about Youkou-sensei. Who knows what he would do to make sure such an ignomious defeat doesn't happen again."

"Yes," she grimaced. Their already insane training regime was going to step up even more. Kurotsume, the black panther accompanying Akira, meowed unhappily.

"Then we just have to make sure we don't lose," the cat user said.

"Yes," the long-haired kunoichi nodded. "I can't imagine what would happen if all of us lost."

"That's the stuff of nightmares." Despite the hot day he shuddered.

A few steps away, a different conversation was taking place.

"It seems like you're up against a tough one, Naruto," Hotaru said.

"It seems," Naruto shrugged. "I wonder how tough he is after what the samurai look-alike did to him."

"Hah," sounded from close by. It was the Iwa girl speaking. "Don't underestimate Akatsuchi. Such lovetaps are nothing to him. He's going to crush you in the next round."

"He's welcome to try," the blond replied evenly.

"Oh, he'd enjoy it," Kurotsuchi smirked.

"I don't know," the other Iwa genin said. "This little one is tough as well."

"Shut up, Kageromaru," she turned to him angrily. "I don't know what were the instructors thinking when they put a loser like you on the same team with us. My brother won't lose to the likes of him."

"You think you're so tough just because of your ancestors?" The Kamizuru clan member spat angrily.

"Cut it already," she scowled. "Your match is coming next. There you have the chance to prove you aren't a good-for-nothing washout like the rest of your once-used-to-be a clan."

Kageromaru's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm going to do just so." And he headed for the arena.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The arena ground~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The third match of the quarterfinals," Maruishi announced, "Kamizuru Kageromaru of Iwa against Gennosuke of Suna."

The two combatants walked down the stairs with measured steps, both of them doing their best to emit an air of calmness and serenity. Yet their excitement could still be seen in the light in their eyes, in the twitches of their fingers, in the covert glances they shot at each other. They assumed their assigned places on the arena ground. None of them uttered a word. The proctor looked between them and then signaled for the match to begin.

The Kamizuru clan member sent his bees into the air. The puppeteer attached chakra strings and launched the horse-like device for an attack. For a moment they just stood there, measuring up each other, waiting for the first move. Then Gennosuke noticed something. Namely a lone bee nearing him from behind. He had to give it to his opponent, he was good. If he hadn't been specifically looking for a trick like this, he would have completely missed it. Fortunately for him he got his hands on a scroll describing the Kamizuru clan techniques and that one had been there.

He pretended not to have detected it and sent his Hisan Uma for a charge. Kageromaru jumped back to get out of range. The puppet user waited for the last possible moment, when the bee was almost upon him. Then he whirled around, his long robes raising enough wind to blow the dangerous insect aside. Then his eyes widened. There was another bee already sitting on his head covering, trying to get to his neck to sting him. He had no intention of finding out what its poison would do to him, he had heard rumors that the Kamizuru clan was using some nasty stuff. Almost as nasty as Suna puppeteers.

He batted the bee aside. It tried to sting him, but it couldn't pierce the thick material of his gloves. He shivered at the close call. He'd have to be extremely careful on this one.

He turned back to his opponent. The Iwa genin had circled around the horse puppet and was now running at him, the battle bees surrounding him like a cloud. He couldn't have that. He commanded Hisan Uma to run back to him. The horse's mouth opened and a hail of senbon was launched at the brown-haired boy's back. His swarm warned him and he swerved out of the way. Another barrage shot towards him while he was still in the air. They pierced him through, but the Kamizuru turned into a swarm of bees. Gennosuke recognized it as another of their signature techniques.

The bees were flying at him top speed. He moved Hisan Uma to move closer and opened one of many secret compartments on the puppet. A cloud of sickly gray-green smoke enveloped the puppet and the insects.

Some of the bees emerged out of it, but they were slow and sluggish, struggling to keep their direction. The puppeteer smirked. Those particular stingers wouldn't be bothering anybody anymore. Now just to find where their master was hiding.

Kageromaru observed him from a hiding spot behind a boulder left from the second match. He as well entered the contest well informed about his possible opponents' abilities. He had read a lot about Suna puppeteers and their favorite strategies. One of them was hiding themselves and sending a puppet to pretend they were the real one. He had already spread out his servants all over the arena, looking for where the robed boy could have concealed himself. So far it seemed that the one standing in the open was the real deal, but he wouldn't bet his match on it. He'd just have to launch some attack and try to figure out something from his opponent's reactions.

Gennosuke found himself surrounded by bees on all sides. They were closing on him from all sides. If he tried to poison them again, he would hit himself too. But he had more tricks up his sleeve. He waited until they were almost on top of him. The bees suddenly sped up, turning into globs of honey. They landed on the sandy robes, trying to immobilize its wearer. Then he turned into Hisan Uma. Compartments opened in the puppet's sides and let out another cloud of poison. The bees inside it started dropping down. Kageromaru congratulated himself for sending mostly just Honey Bee Clones, otherwise he would have lost most of his swarm.

Gennosuke quickly reconnected the chakra strings. He cursed inwardly. The honey from the attack got into some of Hisan Uma's joints and hindered its mobility. It was irritating, but not too much of a setback. The puppet as a whole could still move well and most of its weapons were still ready for use. But he couldn't afford to take another such hit. He would have to end it quickly or his puppet would be rendered useless.

He made the horse-like construction run around the arena. He had to determine where his opponent was hiding before he could do anything. He spotted him, behind a boulder and then near another one. Which one was real? It didn't really matter. He sent poisoned senbon at both of them. And both of them dispersed into bees upon being hit. Gennosuke wasn't too surprised.

The bees attacked the puppet and the puppeteer swiftly withdrew it. He threw a smoke bomb in the middle of them. Then he was forced to dodge a hail of kunai. His eyes widened in surprise. He didn't expect the Kamizuru to use anything but his bees. In retrospect it was stupid of him. Especially when his dodge sent him in the middle of a waiting swarm.

He pulled a Kawarimi, but some of the insects managed to get hold of his clothes. He frantically tried to shake them off, but they were persistent. Thankfully they couldn't reach him through the thick material of his clothing. Then he felt a stinger enter his body. A cold shiver ran along his spine. What kind of venom was flowing through his bloodstream now? He prayed it was just a regular bee poison. He stiffened. Then he swayed on his feet. He called Hisan Uma closer to protect himself. He leaned on the puppet for support, but sank to his knees nevertheless a short while later. He tried to get back up, but he lost his balance. He slumped to the ground, trembling slightly. The puppet collapsed next to him.

Kageromaru smirked. It seemed his plan, however simplistic, had worked. The Suna genin was lying in the dirt, presumably unconscious. He sent more bees to sting him, one could never be too sure, he could be faking. Well, after the bees finished their work, it wouldn't be faking anymore.

He waited for two minutes, then left his hiding place and cautiously walked to his downed opponent. The puppeteer was motionless, his long robes obscuring his body. His bees assured him this was the real one, but puppeteers tended to be tricky. He aimed a handful of kunai and threw them. For a moment, he wondered why the proctor wasn't calling the match. Did he somehow know that the body lying in front of him wasn't real?

He got his answer soon enough. The kunai impacted with a dull thud, indicating they struck only wood. Something closed around his ankles, a brief glance revealed it to be a pair of mechanical arms. Before he could think of plan B, a small pouch exploded in his face. The knockout gas promptly sent him to the realm of dreams.

Gennosuke used a Kawarimi to get out of his hiding place. It had been a close call, but he managed to exchange himself with a backup puppet when he had Hisan Uma collapse. He bowed when the proctor declared him the winner. He left the arena without any more dawdling. If he wanted to remove all the honey before his next match, he had his work cut out for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Finally something resembling strategy," the Tsuchikage grumbled. He was disappointed that the Iwa genin lost, but his performance allowed him to vote for his promotion.

"Indeed," the Kazekage nodded. Finally one of his had won and in a spectacular battle to boot. Maybe this Exam wouldn't be a disaster for Suna after all. Now if just more of his genin showed such potential.

"But in the end, the Kamizuru came out in the open when it wasn't confirmed his opponent was down. That is a fatal mistake," the Hokage pointed out.

"I'm certain he did everything to make sure the puppeteer wasn't able to fight anymore," the short Kage said. "He just wasn't able to tell it wasn't so."

"In a real fight it doesn't matter," the Kazekage remarked.

"Too true," nodded the Hokage sagely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Finalists' booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Way to go," Kaede shouted. She shouldn't be even there, being defeated and all, but once the medics cleared her to leave the infirmary, she immediately returned to support her teammates.

"Good work," Daiki added. Gennosuke waved them and continued dragging the puppet out of the arena.

"They both seem dangerous," Naruto mused. "Aren't you worried about facing him next round, Hana?"

"She should be more worried about facing me now," Akira said. The giant black feline meowed in agreement. The Haimaru siblings growled angrily.

"You're the one who should be worried," the Inuzuka said with a smile. "Cats are no match for dogs."

"What dogs?" he raised an eyebrow. "You can't possibly mean those puppies. Kurotsume eats such for breakfast." The cat licked his lips. "The only way they can be dangerous for him is if they get stuck in his throat."

"Funny you say it," the dog mistress retorted. "My dear Haimaru are in need of a new chew toy."

"Then give them your teammate," he suggested. "He's small enough. They shouldn't have any trouble dragging him around."

"Hey," Naruto scowled. "I'd kick your butt for this, but Hana would be angry if I didn't leave anything for her to play with."

"That's true," the Inuzuka clan heiress nodded. "I hate it when somebody touches my punch bags."

"Don't be so cocky," Mizue advised. "Akira is the strongest of our team and our team is the strongest in Suna."

"I beg to disagree," Daiki said, but he was ignored.

"That doesn't mean much," Kurotsuchi voiced her opinion.

"Nobody asked you," Mizue scowled.

"I think you should spare your energy for the fight," Hotaru advised. "The match is about to start."

Sure enough, Gennosuke finally succeeded in removing Hisan Uma from the arena and Maruishi stepped forward to announce the next duel.

"The fourth match of the quarterfinals: Inuzuka Hana of Konoha against Kineko Akira from Suna." The two combatants scowled at each other one last time before heading down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Spectators' stands~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Watch, mom, big sister is going to fight now," Kiba exclaimed. He was bouncing on his seat with excitement.

"I know," Tsume answered. She maintained a dignified exterior, as dignified as an Inuzuka could manage, but she was feeling the same as her son. Kuromaru was sitting beside her, his tail swishing left and right.

"She is so gonna beat him. Hey Hana," he shouted, even if it was doubtful she could hear him over the roar of the crowd even with her sensitive ears. "Kick that overgrown cat around, will you?!"

"Yes, go for it," Tsume joined the cheering. She knew she was supposed to be a calm and collected clan head, but she didn't care. It wasn't every day your eldest fought in her first Chuunin Exams Finals. The Inuzuka clan had a reputation for being unruly anyway and there weren't many people who knew her personally around. "And you, pup," she turned to her younger offspring, "better watch carefully. Now you'll see what an Inuzuka is capable of. What you could be capable of if you just studied diligently," she couldn't help but add.

"Why do you have to bring it up now?" he whined.

"Because you still don't listen," she replied. "And quit your whining, they're about to start."

* * *

That's it for now.

Next time: Hana's and Hotaru's fights.


	21. Of cats and dogs

**A.N.:** So here comes another one. For everybody who complained about fights between minor characters, I apologize, but here comes one more. For everybody else, read, enjoy and review. And for those who haven't noticed yet, there is a picture of young Temari on my DA account.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I'm tired of trying to think up something funny for every chapter.**

* * *

"This is going to be a cats' and dogs' fight," remarked one of the spectators. Hana's sensitive hearing picked it even over the roar of the crowd. She smirked. The man was right. It was going to be a cats' and dogs' fight and she was itching to show the arrogant cat boy just which one of them was better. The Haimaru triplets barked in anticipation. They couldn't wait to chase some cats as well.

Akira on the other side of the stadium was having similar thoughts. He was more then ready to pound some mangy mutts into their place. Kurotsume meowed in agreement. He was trembling with excitement as well. They were going to pound the arrogant Inuzuka to the ground, no matter they had the numerical advantage. Four times nothing was still nothing, while they were mighty shinobi of the Sand.

The two (or six in their opinion) combatants stood in the middle of the arena, both snarling, the Inuzuka growling and the Kineko hissing. The proctor glanced to make sure they were prepared, then signaled for the match to begin and vacated the arena.

Hana didn't waste a second, activating the Shikyaku no Jutsu before the sand from Maruishi's shunshin settled down. She immediately gained a feral appearance. Her opponent followed suit with his family version of Beast Mimicry technique. His eyes turned slitted like a cat's, his ears become pointed, his teeth grew longer and sharper and his nails turned into sharp claws, his hair now resembling a lion's mane. The two opponents now looked eerily similar, despite one sporting canine and the other feline traits.

The dog mistress attacked first. She started forward to engage the cat master in a taijutsu battle, her dogs meanwhile attacking the overgrown black cat.

Hana's charge was fast and ferocious, but the Kineko clan transformation ensured him superior speed. He evaded her attack without even trying and slashed his claws at her. She blocked with her forearm, but the sharp thin nails pierced her skin anyway. She bared her teeth in a threatening grimace and kicked at his legs. He jumped over her shin and tried to punch her face. She turned her head to avoid it.

The exchange of blows continued for another minute. Then the kunoichi jumped back and disengaged. So far she discovered that her opponent was bigger, stronger and faster than her, though his taijutsu skill wasn't superior, he was maintaining the upper hand in this combat. Even the Haimaru siblings weren't faring too well, they were still young and the cat seemed fully grown. Kurotsume was throwing them around. It was time to step up the fight.

She withdrew four Soldier pills from her pouch and threw three of them to her partners. The puppies grew in size and they fur darkened. She swallowed the last one herself. She could already feel the energy filling her veins.

"All right, boys," she called, "let's go wild! Juujin Bunshin!" The three canines were enveloped in clouds of chakra. When they dispersed, four exact copies of Inuzuka Hana were standing there, all of them growling threateningly. "Gatsuuga!"

Four flurry tornadoes sped towards Akira. He was moving before they could get halfway to him. It stretched the limits of his speed, but he managed to get out of their way. They changed their direction to follow him, but couldn't maneuver properly at such speed. Then he realized something. Their charge at him was only a feint. Their real target had been Kurotsume all the time. They guessed which way he would dodge and used the pretense of going after him to hide their true intentions. The moment they were revealed it was already too late.

The great panther spotted the danger heading his way and with feline grace sprang to evade. He almost made it. One of the Tsuuga caught his flank cutting a long gash into it. It hardly went any deeper than skin, but it hurt nevertheless. He roared in pain.

The Inuzuka foursome stopped their spins and looked at the results of their ploy. The cat was bleeding slightly, but it sustained no debilitating injury. But then she never expected to take him out with the first charge.

"Kurotsume," Akira shouted furiously. That bitch dared to touch his precious cat. She'll pay for that dearly, he was going to see to that. He took out his own Soldier pills and threw one to his partner. The panther swallowed it and undergone his own transformation. It seemed to grow, its eyes glowed golden and its fur gained a reddish sheen. "Come on," shouted Akira. "Kineko style: The sphinx!" Swirling chakra surrounded the pair. Hana knew that whatever would come out of it wouldn't be good for her, but she was too slow to stop it.

The whirl of chakra died down revealing something from ancient legends. The being's lower half of the body belonged to a great feline, resembling Kurotsume but much bigger. Where the neck and head should be was instead a human torso, larger than it should be, but the face undoubtedly belonged to Akira.

The dog mistress had no idea what the creature could do, but she decided she didn't want to find out. She called her dogs to her. "Inuzuka style: Nibai Soutou Rou!" She joined with one of her dogs, the remaining two joined together. Soon there were two big double-headed wolves facing the cat-like monster. "Let's go," the one on the right growled. They charged at the enemy.

The cat ninja weren't waiting idly for them to come. The Sphinx reached into his utility pouch, which he retained during the jutsu, and took out a sealing scroll. With a puff of smoke a monstrous halberd appeared in his hands. The charging wolves changed directions just in time to avoid being pierced through. This wasn't going to be easy, but she already knew that. She paused for a moment to think.

The Kineko capitalized on it instantly. He jumped forward, his weapon poised to strike. She narrowly avoided the sharp point, than tried to grab the pole with one of her heads. The feline beast noticed it and withdrew his weapon. Her jaws snapped empty.

She was now inside his guard. She jumped forward to grab his shoulder. He jumped backwards. She pursued him. He swung his halberd at her. It sliced into her side. She yelped in pain and grabbed it with her jaws. He tried to take it back, but her teeth held fast. The other head barked an order. The Kineko had barely time to look over his shoulder, when the other Soutou Rou went into a Garouga. He let go of his weapon and jumped to avoid it, but he couldn't match the speed of the Wolf's Fang. It slammed into his side. It then proceeded to throw him into the air and slam him into the arena wall.

Their landing threw up a huge cloud of dust. When it cleared, it revealed Akira, Kurotsume and two of the Haimaru triplets lying on the ground. Small whimpers could be heard from the downed group. Akira tried to move, he managed to rise to his hands and knees, but Hana, still in the Double-headed Wolf form, was upon him in an instant, closing her jaws around him. The sharp points of her teeth digging into his skin stressed the hopelessness of his situation.

"I yield," he whimpered through clenched teeth. He couldn't believe he lost to some mangy mutt, but he couldn't deny the reality of the mouth threatening to slice him into three pieces at the slightest provocation, not to mention that half of the bones in his body felt broken.

"Winner: Inuzuka Hana," announced the proctor. The kunoichi immediately separated from her dog. The technique took the majority of her chakra. She would be at great disadvantage in the upcoming fight, she could only hope her next opponent would be even worse off after his first fight.

She refused to let any weakness show on her and left the arena followed by her faithful dogs. She'll have to sacrifice even more of her precious chakra to heal them before the next fight. It occurred to her that she might have to forfeit, but her pride prevented her from doing so. She definitely was going to fight, even if she should lose within the first minute.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Spectators'stands~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wow," Kiba exclaimed. "You rock, sister!"

"Excellent, Hana," Tsume shouted. "You showed him up!" She was glad her daughter beat up the arrogant Kineko. Their clans had a grudge against each other since before the founding of the Hidden Villages. It wasn't anything major, just some rivalry sprouting from the natures of cats and dogs.

She turned to Kiba. "So you see how important it's to train?"

"Yes," he nodded. "So when will I get my dog? Or can I get three like Hana? Or four?"

"You wouldn't know how to handle one," Kuromaru remarked.

"That's right," his mistress nodded. "You can't get a partner until you prove you can handle one."

"Aw, mom," Kiba pouted. "I can handle one."

"I don't think so," she shook her head resolutely.

"That's not fair," he complained.

"Life's not fair," Kuromaru turned his only eye to him. "Get used to it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"A lot of power in the both of them, but too short tempers for chuunin," the Tsuchikage said.

"I remember the Kineko losing his composure, but when exactly did the Inuzuka do anything rash?" the Hokage asked.

"You mean except the beginning, when she charged a bigger, stronger opponent?" the Kazekage asked. "She was angry the whole time and it clouded her judgment. She wasted lots of chakra here."

"She showed more strategy than her opponent did," Sarutobi pointed out.

"But not enough."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Finalists' booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Way to go, Hana!" Naruto shouted. Even he was amazed that his teammate could fight so well. He had seen Soutou Rou only once before and never two of them at once. He considered it impressive even back then, but now it was a completely different show.

"It's quite something, isn't it?" Hotaru agreed.

"I can't believe Akira lost," Mizue shook her head.

"Now it's up to you to save the honor of our team," Toshiro said. Even he came here as soon as he managed to escape the infirmary.

"Don't even remind me," she grimaced. Nightmarish images of what Youkou-sensei would do if all of them lost in the first round entered her consciousness. Despite the hot day she shivered. She needed something to take her mind of such depressing matters. "Hey, you purple wench," she turned to Hotaru, "I'm going to kick you until your own mom won't be able to recognize you!"

"You wish," Hotaru smirked. "I bet you're going to trip over your braids. What's up with them anyway? What serious kunoichi can let her hair grow that long?"

"And what about you?" Mizue shot back. "How much do you spend on hair dyes? And have you forgotten your clothes today?"

Hotaru growled. Nobody insulted her hair.

"Uh, girls," Naruto said. "Shouldn't you keep it for the duel?"

Sure enough, the proctor called. "Fifth match of the quarterfinals, Uzuki Hotaru of Konoha versus Mizue of Suna." The girls scowled at each other once more before heading downstairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The arena floor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotaru was secretly glad her opponent for the first round was a girl. Even though she became confident in her abilities during the last half year, most of the competitors still looked too tough for her to beat. But the girl with the ridiculously long hair looked like she could be a relatively easy opponent. Of course, Tenzo-sensei had beaten into their heads that appearances are often deceiving, but she still felt optimistic about her first duel.

The other kunoichi casually strolled into the arena, her four long braids adorned with strange ornaments at the ends swinging behind her.

"Ready to lose?" she taunted.

"You stole my words," returned Hotaru.

"So sure of yourself, pretty girl?" the Suna kunoichi sniped.

"Look who's talking," the purple clad girl scoffed.

"Ready?" the proctor asked before the verbal fight could escalate. Both kunoichi nodded. "Begin," he said and vacated the arena.

Hotaru drew her sword. Mizue did the same. The Konoha genin looked curiously at her weapon. The blade looked weird, too wide to have a real edge. What trick was there to it?

The two opponents eyed each other warily for several seconds. Then Hotaru lost patience and charged. Mizue prepared to counter her. When the purple-haired girl got close enough, she struck.

Hotaru first couldn't understand why the other girl moved so soon. She was still far outside her reach. Then her strange sword started unfolding. Hotaru's eyes widened. If she tried to block the attack, the blade would just go around her and hit her from behind. She jumped high to avoid the blow, but the snake-like blade moved to follow her. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed her opponent smirking. That wasn't good.

She twisted in the air. She managed to kick the flat side of the blade before it could slice her. The tip of the sword turned to pierce her back, but she blocked it with her own blade. She was almost on top of the other girl, ready to kick her face. Then her hair came into life.

'What the…' was the only thought in Hotaru's head before the braids swung at her, the trinkets on them suddenly looking dangerous instead of ornamental. She couldn't halt her descent now.

Mizue thought she had her opponent, but then she suddenly turned into a rock, one of those that remained from an earlier match. Kawarimi, she realized. She barely had time to jump out of the way. She swore and turned around to search for her opponent.

She didn't have to look for long. The purple-haired Konoha kunoichi was already running at her, her kodachi crackling with Lightning chakra. The Suna genin swung her strange weapon at her. Hotaru blocked. The blades met with a crack of electricity. Hotaru hoped it would shock her opponent, but she didn't even flinch. The handle must be insulated. This called for a different approach.

She lifted her hands to form a sequence of seals. 'Raiton: Wide Strike.' Lightning bolts launched from her fingertips, heading in the general direction of her opponent. Realizing she couldn't dodge in time, she pulled a Kawarimi. Hotaru's attack scorched only a boulder. Seeing this she quickly moved from her spot. It proved to be a wise decision, Mizue attacked from behind.

The Leaf kunoichi considered her options. The bending sword sure was pesky. It prevented her from moving close and she wasn't particularly skilled at distance fighting. She'd have to take that weapon from her, the only question was how. An idea formed in her mind, she only needed time to make it work.

She created a group of basic Bunshin and had them attack the Suna girl. She let Mizue to figure out whether they were corporeal or not on her own and quickly dug into her equipment pouch. She pulled out a roll of ninja wire and started tying it to kunai. Tenzo's words about always being prepared resounded in her head. It wasn't that she was unmindful of them, she just never used that kind of weaponry before. She wasn't much good with it anyway, but now it seemed like it was her only option.

Mizue finally realized she was fighting illusions and that her opponent was preparing something. She decided to stop her before she could finish. Hotaru saw her charge. It came sooner than she hoped, but not before she readied six of her kunai. She stood up and threw the first of them. Mizue moved only slightly to evade. Hotaru launched her other weapons. Mizue came within range and unleashed her snake-like sword. Hotaru pulled on the wires.

The long blade was closing on her dangerously, but then it was stopped. The wires bound themselves around it. Mizue swore. Hotaru pulled and tried to take the weapon, but Mizue's grip was unrelenting. Then she noticed something and had to prevent a smirk from appearing on her face. She sent a pulse of Lightning chakra into the wires. It ran along them and into the other girl's hand that was touching the guard now. Mizue screamed. Her muscles spasmed and tightened around the handle. She didn't lose the grip on her sword, but her hand become useless for the moment. Hotaru saw the opportunity and capitalized on it. She grabbed her kodachi and attacked.

Even one-handed the Sand genin was far from defenseless. Her braids moved once more, assuming protective position in front of her. Hotaru prepared to bat them away. A slight whistle of air warned her of danger coming from behind. She swerved to the left, but the tip of the bending blade still caught her in the side. 'How?' she thought startled. She resumed her charge. She was almost atop the other girl.

The four braids and folding blade were in defensive positions, but she wasn't deterred. Her own sword was filled with Lightning chakra. She swung it and released the electricity in one bolt. At such a close range the Suna kunoichi couldn't even think of dodging. Her hair moved to protect her, but did her little good. The bolt struck dead on. Mizue crumpled on the ground.

Hotaru jumped in to land the finishing blow, mindful of Common mission mishap number 4: supposedly knocked-out enemy isn't really out of the game yet. The lesson had proven too true again. Her sword strike was blocked by the bending blade. Mizue was shocked and burned, but still not out of the fight. Hotaru kicked her in the stomach. Mizue skidded across the sandy ground. Hotaru pressed her advantage, raising her kodachi for another strike.

The long-haired girl shook off the worst effects of the lightning strike. She still had trouble moving, but she could manipulate her weapons. She sent her braids to hit Hotaru's legs, but the purple-haired girl jumped over them. But she still had one last defense left. Her left hand formed a seal and held her breath. The ornaments adorning her braids let out a cloud of reddish smoke.

The Konoha kunoichi noticed what she was doing and held her own breath. She landed next to her opponent and kicked her in the head. Mizue slumped on the ground unconscious. Hotaru then quickly vacated the gas-filled area.

The proctor appeared and briefly examined the downed combatant. "Winner: Uzuki Hotaru."

She was so relieved. She came dangerously close to losing on too many occasions. She thanked the applauding audience and stumbled out of the arena. The fight wasn't long, but it had taken a lot out of her. She sustained a wound and she barely defeated what was one of the weakest competitors. Even the squirt Naruto didn't have so much trouble with his opponent. Once again she felt doubts about her ability.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Interesting fighting style the Suna girl has," the Hokage observed. "I have seen attempts at using puppetry techniques in close combat before, but none quite like this."

"But she lost," the Kazekage spat. It was a bitter pill to swallow. Out of the five Suna genin whose fights already took place only one had advanced. It was unacceptable. He could only hope that the last one would fare better.

Behind the esteemed village leaders one of Hokage's ANBU guards smiled behind her mask. She knew her cousin had it in her, she had trained with her often enough. Her stance betrayed nothing of her thoughts. She was a professional after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Finalists' booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Damn it," Toshiro swore to no-one in particular. Akira was still in the infirmary. All his team was out and none of them had even put a spectacular fight. Youkou-sensei was going to train them to the ground for this.

"Awesome, Hotaru!" Naruto cheered wildly. He had a good reason. They were the only team that advanced as a whole. None of the others could boast the same. It was just too bad he had nobody to share his joy with. Hana was still somewhere healing her wounded dogs. A pity she couldn't witness this fight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Down in the arena~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The sixth match of the quarterfinals," Maruishi called, "Kurotsuchi of Iwa against Aoyume Daiki of Suna."

Kurotsuchi strolled into the arena with a sway. Her opponent was a short, wimpy-looking boy in loose robe-like outfit in bluish color, looking utterly harmless. The Tsuchikage's granddaughter wasn't fooled though. She cultivated the 'useless' image herself, with her bright red top and miniskirt and mesh leggings, and many enemies had fallen victim to the dangerous deception. She was convinced that despite his appearance her opponent was quite capable. Too bad she had no idea what he specialized in. She could make a guess though.

He didn't seem to have a lot of weapons on his person, despite the concealing garb. His attire also wasn't overly practical for taijutsu, so that left ninjutsu and genjutsu. She tried to recall everything she knew about his family. Being from a Kage's family gave her considerably better access to information than was usual among genin.

The Aoyume were a small clan from Suna, not prominent. Little was known about their specific abilities, they tended to use general ninja skills, usually being proficient with genjutsu. She reckoned that was this one's style of choice as well. If it was so, things were looking good for her. She was quite adept at detecting and dispelling them and not too bad at casting them either.

She had no problem looking confident and intimidating. When the proctor signaled the beginning of the match, she immediately charged. If the Suna boy was indeed a genjutsu specialist, there was no use giving him time to ensnare her in one of his illusions.

The boy darted out of the way. "That wasn't too good," he observed. His voice had a strange singsong quality to it. She turned on her heel and charged at him again, this time throwing a few shuriken for good measure. He evaded easily again. "Is this all you can do?" he taunted.

"You haven't seen anything yet," she snarled. That baby-faced sissyboy was seriously pissing her off. Eyes narrowed, she took a moment to consider which jutsu would be best to squash him.

"Have you fallen asleep?" She was seriously fed up with his jabs. She was going to wipe that arrogant smirk from his face.

'Doton: Giant's Hands.' Her fingers flickered through required handseals and a giant stone hand rose from the ground, trying to grab the Suna genin's legs and squash them. He noticed the danger in time and jumped away, just as she expected him to. Another hand appeared. It managed to touch his ankle before he turned into a boulder. 'What?' she thought, then some instinct warned her about danger behind her. She jumped to the side and Daiki's kunai narrowly missed her.

'Damn, a Kawarimi,' she thought. 'How comes I haven't noticed it earlier?'

"That was pathetic," the blue-clad boy snickered. She answered with a hail of shuriken. He dodged, but she used wires attached to them to change their course. They hit him and passed right through.

'Bunshin? Genjutsu? I must be slipping,' thought the Iwa kunoichi. "Kai," she tried the dispelling technique. Nothing changed. 'What?' she couldn't understand. 'Is the illusion so complex or is there none at all?'

"You look confused," Daiki observed with mirth. She whirled around. She was going to rip him a new one. A part of her mind noted that she didn't even detect him until he spoke. She paid it no heed. With a handseal she forced the earth to form a spike and impale the pest. He disappeared with a burst of smoke.

'Another Bunshin?' She couldn't believe her eyes. He was leading her around. How dare he? When she got her hands on him… A part of her brain pointed out that she would first have to get her hands on him and that would be quite difficult if she couldn't find him. She had to admit that it was true.

"What are you doing, striking at thin air?" the obnoxious kid jibed again. Her face twisted into a snarl. How dare he… 'How does he make me so angry anyway? I don't usually react to taunts like that. Scratch it, I never do. So why does he? And how is he hiding? Genjutsu perhaps?'

"Kai," she attempted dispelling again. Nothing changed around her, but she felt a bit calmer. 'I was right, he is doing something to me,' she realized, 'but how? I've never heard about a genjutsu like this.'

"Doesn't work, does it?" the Suna sand rat singsonged and she once again saw red. She whirled around, already halfway through the seal sequence for a devastating Earth jutsu. 'His voice,' she realized. 'Every time he speaks, I get angrier. He already made me waste lots of chakra. I mustn't allow it to continue.'

"Kai," she said for the third time during the duel. It helped a little bit.

"Seriously, what are you trying to accomplish?" And she was back where she started. It was getting irritating, but she barely noticed through her fury. 'I have to stay focused,' the rational part of her mind commanded, but it was too hard to obey. "Can't you talk?" 'I mustn't listen to him. I mustn't listen to him,' she repeated like a mantra. It helped her a bit, but Daiki was pressing his advantage. "You Iwa nin are really as thick as rocks."

"Kai," she tried again, even though she knew it was an exercise in futility. She put her fingers to her ears. "I won't listen to you anymore," she shouted.

"But that isn't so easy, is it?" he called back. Damn it, he was still influencing her. And she had no idea where was he hiding. There was only one thing she could do now. She had learned the technique only recently and still wasn't proficient enough with it, but she was confident she could pull it of.

'Doton: Stone Rose Garden.' Earthen vines sprouted from the ground in a wide circle around Kurotsuchi, most of them having sharp thorns. The Rock kunoichi swore. She couldn't cover the whole arena with them and only about half of them were fully formed. 'Looks like I'll have to practice more,' she thought. Fortunately for her the jutsu fulfilled its purpose. Her slippery opponent suddenly appeared jumping from a spot well within the technique's range, a bloody tear in his pants leg. 'Got you,' the Tsuchikage's granddaughter thought. Her hands formed a seal, but nothing visible happened. Daiki landed in the ground and sunk into it. His eyes widened in surprise. 'Checkmate,' thought the black-haired girl and her face twisted into a predatory smirk. Then she wavered a bit. This had cost her more chakra then she expected. She had to finish this manually then. It shouldn't be too much of a problem, her opponent was buried up to his waist in the ground and not going anywhere.

"Well, that's a bother," the Aoyume stated. 'Yes, it was a bother,' she agreed silently. She would finish it quickly. She reached into her pouch for a couple of kunai. "Aren't you tired?" the blue-gray clad boy asked. Yes, she was tired. She must have burned even more chakra than she had initially thought. She had to finish it soon. "I'm so tired as well," he added. Or maybe she could take a nap now and finish it later. 'Or maybe he's using his voice again,' she realized, but she was so tired she didn't care. But then her eyes caught sight of the Kage box where her grandfather was sitting. No, she couldn't lose here. Not in front of him. Not when her dimwit of a brother had already won. He would never let her hear the end of it. She summoned whatever willpower she still possessed.

"Kai," she said for what felt like thousandth time today and instantly felt better. She hauled her kunai at the Sand genin. That should shut him up. Despite being trapped, Daiki managed to avoid most of the projectiles and the others he deflected with a kunai of his own. Kurotsuchi ran at him top speed. With every step her fatigue was lessening. He stood no chance now.

The Suna ninja refused to accept that. He brought his hands together in a seal. The kunoichi threw another handful of kunai at him to prevent him from finishing whatever jutsu he was preparing. She wasn't fast enough. A sense of vertigo suddenly hit her and she stumbled. When she looked back up, she saw rows and files of bluish-clad genin in front of her. But which one was the real one? She raised her hands into a dispelling sign.

"It is hopeless," her opponent said. "You cannot break out of my illusions so easily." Her dispelling failed. It was bad. He had her ensnared and she couldn't… "It's just a matter of time before you'll admit defeat." And he was speaking again. 'Damn it, why would I despair? He is the one buried in the ground.'

"Kai," she shouted. This time it worked. Only one image remained in front of her. "And now I've got you," she smirked evilly. She closed the distance between them in a few steps and plunged a kunai into his chest. She encountered no resistance. 'Not the real one? How? Am I in a layered genjutsu?'

"So you see how futile your attempts are," the melodic voice of the Aoyume clan member once again pierced her consciousness and filled her with a sense of hopelessness. She knew it was his doing, but it was hard not to succumb. "You have nothing to counter my ability." Make that very hard. But there was something in her that refused to give up.

"No," she yelled and jumped to her feet. A sharp pain shot from her thigh. A kunai had sliced her skin. 'That's where my neck was a second before,' she realized, cold running along her spine. She glanced around. She could now clearly see her opponent, his hand still raised after the throw. 'If I hadn't jumped…' But she had and the pain had broken her out of the genjutsu. She wasted no more time. In one giant, adrenaline-aided leap she crossed the distance between them and kicked him, first to his stomach and then to his head. Hard. And then she kicked him again. He slumped to the ground unconscious. She kicked him once more for good measure.

The proctor appeared beside her. He examined Daiki to make sure he was really out of it. "Winner – Kurotsuchi," he announced. She sagged with relief. That fight had been draining, both physically and emotionally. She bowed to the audience, glancing at her grandfather to gauge his opinion of her fight, but the Tsuchikage's face was unreadable even for her. Well, she'll find out during the break. And she should check up on Akatsuchi as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage's booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The Aoyume was in control of the fight until the end," the Kazekage said. He couldn't believe it. Out of the six Suna genin only one advanced. That was just unacceptable. At least this one had made a good show of it until he messed it up. He could already see his budget dwindling.

"That he was," the Hokage agreed. "If she hadn't moved when she did…"

'I'd probably killed him,' the Tsuchikage thought, 'consequences be damned.' His grandchildren were most precious to him in the whole world. Even more precious than power. They were the only ones who could boast that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Spectator's stands~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Your team is out, Youkou-kun," a woman in an expensive kimono smirked. It looked strange on her white-painted face.

"It is so, Teono-chan," the man in tiger-like suit answered. "Their spirits shone brightly, but not enough. I will have to work with them long and hard to remedy it."

"Those poor dears," the geisha look-alike commented. "I don't understand how they put up with you."

"They know where they get the best training," he replied. "Not everybody can get by only on their looks."

"Do you think you can take on me?" she cooed.

"No," he said. Her flirtatious expression unnerved him. It never bode well for anybody.

"That's good," she nodded. The combs and needles in her elaborate hairdo jingled slightly. "I like men who know who is their better."

"If you excuse me now," Youkou said, "I'll go check on my students. Those poor dears need some cheering up, lest their spirits would dampen."

"I think I should go with you," Teono decided. "I have students to console as well. You aren't going to get rid of me so easily, Youkou-kun."

* * *

That's it for today.

Next time: begin the semifinals


	22. A fateful fight

**A.N.:** So here comes another chapter. I hope you'll like it as much a sthe previous ones. Please read and review.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I don't think I ever will. Do you?**

* * *

There was a half-hour break between the quarterfinals and the semifinals. Team Tenzo used it to meet together. They choose a place near the infirmary, because Hana was still tending to her dogs and Hotaru had a couple of minor scraps that needed a bit of medical attention.

"Good work, all three of you," Tenzo beamed at his students.

"We're the most awesome team there is," Naruto boasted.

"Are you now?" the jounin cocked his head sideways.

"That's because we have the most awesome sensei," the boy added. The Wood user couldn't help but smile. He ruffled Naruto's hair.

"Never forget it," he said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The infirmary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryoutenbin no Oonoki used the break to check on his grandchildren. He was proud that they both won, even though he thought they could have done better. He found them in the infirmary, a medic was just finishing his work on Akatsuchi's arm.

"There," the woman said, "it should be alright now, but you should still try to avoid getting hit there." The redhead nodded in confirmation.

"I understand. It's not like I need two hands to squish a midget."

"That's the spirit," Kurotsuchi smiled. The med-nin left the room. There was a moment of tense silence. Neither of the genin knew whether their Kage came to praise them or scold them. It was rarely possible to tell with him.

"Good job, the two of you," the grandfather said with a smile. The tense atmosphere immediately disappeared.

"It could be better," the boy remarked. "I should have beaten that nobody sooner."

"Don't be too harsh on yourself," the Tsuchikage consoled him. "You are elite in Iwa, but those who got into the finals are elite in their own villages. You cannot expect to defeat them easily, that's a sure way to fail."

"I know," Akatsuchi answered.

"Then don't forget it," the old man advised.

"I won't," his grandson assured. "I'll beat that child with no trouble."

"Now listen to yourself, brat," Oonoki chastised. "What have I just told you? You're already underestimating him."

"That's what's he good at," Kurotsuchi added.

"Don't underestimate the boy," the Sandaime Tsuchikage said gravely.

"Why so serious?" his granddaughter wondered.

"That child, he looks just like Him," the Kage answered.

"Him?" Akatsuchi's eyes widened. "Surely you don't mean Him?!"

"Yes, you dolt, that's just who I mean," the short man said.

"Are you certain?" the black-haired girl asked.

"What is ever certain?" the aged village leader asked rhetorically. "But we cannot afford to take chances. If Konoha trains another fighter like Him…" He trailed of with a grave face. Once more silence ruled the infirmary. Everybody was considering the possible implications. The images they came up with weren't pretty.

"Akatsuchi," the Tsuchikage ordered, "in the next match… Kill him."

"I will," the boy smirked evilly.

"And don't you dare underestimate him," Oonoki reminded him. "There is something else I have to tell you about him. It isn't confirmed, but I suspect he is the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

"No way. That squirt?" Akatsuchi didn't look convinced.

"Well, he is the right age," Kurotsuchi mused. "And if that is true, what would happen if he used his power? Do you really think Akatsuchi can take him then?"

"Then I must get him before he gets the chance to do so," the big redhead decided.

"Just be careful," the old man said. "If things go bad, fall back. There are other ways to get rid of one little genin."

"But none of the others are legal," the redhead said.

"You caught on it quickly," his grandfather smiled. "Maybe we'll make a diplomat out of you yet."

"Not likely," Kurotsuchi smirked.

"You aren't going to get a rise out of me, sister," Akatsuchi answered. "I don't want to be a politician anyway. I'll be a strong ninja instead."

"Then why are you not?" she teased.

"What did you just say?!"

"Children," the Tsuchikage interrupted, "spare the energy for your fights. And that's an order."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The arena~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maruishi announced that the break was over. "First match of the semifinals: Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha versus Akatsuchi of Iwa."

Akatsuchi entered the arena with a heavy feeling in his stomach. Was it really possible? Could he really be facing the son of That Man? It was almost too much to comprehend. And was he really a jinchuuriki? He didn't look like one. He knew both Han and Roushi in Iwa and both were big hulks of man and accomplished shinobi. He realized they must have been young once, but it was still hard to imagine such power contained within such a small body. Of course, they might be reading too much into this situation and their likeness was entirely coincidental, but they would rather err on the side of caution, especially when the future of Iwa was at stake. Especially when he could kill his target legally.

Then the person in question stood right in front of him looking at him with big blue eyes from under golden-yellow bangs. He was just a child, he realized, but he could very well be His son. The son of his father's killer. Yes, he would enjoy killing him.

Naruto meanwhile was eyeing him warily. The Iwa genin was twice as tall and four times as wide as him. That didn't bode well for him. The expression in the redhead's round face didn't bode well for him as well. For a moment he considered forfeiting. But then he looked up in the stands, to his teammates and sensei cheering on him. Another glance was aimed at the Kage booth. He couldn't see the Hokage's expression in the shadow cast by his hat, but he could imagine a gentle encouraging smile on that wrinkled old face. No, he couldn't let them down. He would fight. Suddenly his opponent being so big didn't look like such a bad thing. It just made him easier to hit. His confidence restored, he smiled.

"Ready?" the proctor asked. "Begin." He disappeared from the arena. The contestants stood there motionless, both measuring the other, both considering the best course of attack.

Akatsuchi moved first. He decided to begin with the brutal approach. He ran at the Konoha genin intending to crush him. Naruto jumped to the side, grabbing his sword. He wanted to slice the Iwa boy with a Wind Blade, but he was too slow. The redhead evaded the attack. Then the rotund youth whirled on his feet and charged again. The Leaf ninja waited for the right moment to strike. The bigger lad didn't give him the opportunity. He hauled a fistful of shuriken at him and the youngest of the chuunin-hopefuls was forced to dodge again. The situation repeated once more, this time with kunai sailing at the blond genin. He evaded again, then noticed the kunai handles. His eyes widened for a split second before he performed a Kawarimi. He made it just in time to avoid the blast from the Exploding notes activating.

"Are you going to run all the time?" the round-faced chuunin-hopeful taunted. Naruto thought about a witty reply for a moment but nothing suitable came to him. He decided to go on offense instead. He ran forward with his sword poised for a strike. When a stone wall suddenly rose from the earth, he wasn't surprised. He pumped chakra to his legs and jumped high. He knew the opponent would be prepared for him, but then, so was he. When the Iwa ninja evaded his strike, he didn't even blink. He just turned his head a bit. Akatsuchi moved his fist to punch him. Naruto unleashed a Slicing Scream.

The problem was his opponent had seen that technique in the first round. When he noticed the blond opening his mouth, he was already ducking. The main force of the blast hit only thin air. Akatsuchi punched at him. Naruto kicked. His foot touched Akatsuchi's forearm, but he didn't manage to deflect the hit significantly. It impacted with his side and sent him crashing into the ground.

He rolled on the ground. The Iwa redhead kicked him, but the blond switched with one of the boulders littering the battleground. He got to his feet and assessed the damage. Nothing serious. His side was sore, but that would fade soon. He wondered how his newest trick worked, but he couldn't see the other contestant from his spot.

Then the Tsuchikage's grandson appeared from behind the stone wall. His right arm was bleeding and his face held a furious expression. Naruto smirked. It worked as a charm. Tenzo had been initially doubtful when he suggested enveloping any part of his body in Wind chakra, but his student was convinced about the potential in his idea. It took a lot of training, but it was paying off. He hadn't perfected it yet, but he could now turn his feet into blades. He was thankful for all the walking-on-anything lessons.

Unfortunately he couldn't make the blades very long. It seemed that only skin was cut on Akatsuchi's forearm, but even that was better than nothing. He doubted the other boy could regenerate the same as him. And even the smallest sensitive spot can be exploited, his sensei had hammered the lesson into him mercilessly. Now he just had to get close to the other shinobi. But the Rock ninja knew that as well and was dead set on not allowing it.

The big boy raised his arms to form handseals. Naruto mirrored his action. Two dozen Shadow clones appeared in front of him the same time a rift appeared in the ground and sped towards him. The clones spread out. Akatsuchi couldn't tell which one was the original and cancelled his technique. He instead started another jutsu and stone spikes rose from the sand covering the arena floor. There were more numerous and sharper than when he used the jutsu before. About a half of Naruto's clones were popped. He signaled to the remaining ones. It was time for a jutsu combo.

Eight of the clones started forming seals for a 'Fuuton: Great breakthrough,' the others for 'Katon: Endan.' But Akatsuchi wasn't idle as well. A quick series of handseals and a palm slammed into the ground and a dome of earth formed around him. The inferno of Naruto's techniques couldn't get in.

The blond swore. His opponent had a counter to his strongest attack. That had cost him quite a lot of chakra and even his reserves weren't bottomless. He couldn't just fire a jutsu after jutsu and hope the other boy would reach his limit first. He reckoned the redhead's chakra was running low, but he wasn't willing to bet the match on it. He had to think up a strategy.

Akatsuchi was breathing hard. That had been close. He could feel the heat from the flames even through the earth wall. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened had he been a second slower. Not to mention a thorough defense like this cost him a whole lot of chakra. He couldn't afford to let this fight drag on. He had to finish it in one move. He had already revealed his trump card in the duel with the Shinkudai boy, the yellow brat wouldn't fall for it, he had already proven himself quick with the Kawarimi. He had to try something else. He formed a couple of Rock clones.

Naruto watched cracks appear in the molten glassy surface of the dome. The Doton user was about to come out. He and his remaining clones moved closer to get a better position for an attack. Than the overgrown boy finally appeared and Naruto struck. His blade was sharpened with elemental chakra, closing in at the rotund boy's stomach. The Konoha genin wasn't aiming to kill, but he was still surprised how shallow the resulting wound was. More so when the big redhead didn't even flinch and struck him in the face. A Rock clone, realized the boy before he dispersed into smoke.

The original Naruto grimaced. He could have figured that the Tsuchikage's grandson would know those. He recalled everything he knew about them. Tenzo used them in training often enough for him to gain some experience. They were strong and hard to destroy, but they had little intelligence of their own, usually they required their creator's direct control. Now how to use it to his advantage? He knew the original Iwa genin was still inside the dome, but the doppelganger was blocking his access. There was no way he could pass through the wall of moving stone. Then he slapped his forehead. There was an obvious answer to the problem. Without wasting any more time he proceeded to implement it.

Akatsuchi glanced through the hole in the wall. His clone was doing well in fending any of the blond's attacks off, but he wasn't getting any closer to killing the pest. He sent the other clone to battle. He'd let them do the hard work and use the brief respite to recuperate. Then the little yellow menace decided to attack.

A hail of kunai sailed from one of the still remaining Shadow clones. He motioned for his own Rock Clone to block them. It managed without trouble. Next came a wave of shuriken. Even those were easily stopped. He glanced to the side. He could have sworn something moved there but he couldn't tell what it was. Still he couldn't just let it pass. It could be a trap.

He wasn't given enough time to investigate. Numerous kunai were flying at him and this time there was the telltale burning of Explosive notes. He sacrificed a good part of his remaining chakra to create a wall to stop them. This was becoming too troublesome.

An explosion resounded outside. It couldn't harm him inside. The punch he barely blocked with his forearm could. 'How the hell did he get inside?' thought the Iwa genin. 'And why did he have to hit the arm injured during the first clash?' followed closely. Akatsuchi had to suppress a pained gasp. His eyes narrowed in anger. He was going to pound the obnoxious piece of snot into the ground and then some. He punched with all his might.

Naruto barely avoided the crushing fist. He suddenly got second thoughts about his plan. Sure the transformation along with distractions enabled him to get close to his opponent, but after he failed to take him out with the first strike, he found himself in an extremely unfavorable position. There wasn't enough space to dodge. His sword was lying discarded somewhere in the sand. He couldn't see outside to find something to perform a Kawarimi with. And to top it off, the other boy seemed intent on breaking every bone in his body. He realized he was fighting not for promotion, but for his very life here.

Akatsuchi struck again and this time Naruto's attempt to dodge was stopped by the wall. He groaned in pain. He tried to use a Slicing Scream, but a kick to his ribs forced the air out of him before he could lace it with chakra. Yes, things were indeed looking bad for him. He wished he went for the kill the moment he got into the dome, but it was too late for it and idle musings at such a time would only get him killed.

'I can't die here,' he thought. Before he could come up with a way to prevent it, another hit landed on his head. Stars exploded in front of his eyes. _**"Kill him," **_said a voice. 'Yes,' he answered. The stars were suddenly gone. He could see perfectly within the darkness of the dome. A fist was nearing him again. He raised his arms and blocked. Surprise registered on his opponent's round face. He used the brief reprieve to get to his feet.

The Iwa genin quickly shook off his surprise. He reached into his pouch for a kunai. The jinchuuriki snarled in response. He jumped at the redhead. He blocked the vicious kick, but the force of the impact propelled the bigger boy backwards nevertheless. Disbelief was written all over his face. It didn't stay there for long. He stabbed his kunai at the short yellow menace. Naruto moved just a bit, avoiding the blade by a hair's breadth. He slammed into the other boy's large stomach. He stumbled backward, through the crack, knocking over the wall he erected to block the Exploding kunai. Naruto jumped after him and punched. His fist hit hard rock. His opponent pulled a Kawarimi. Then a stony fist impacted with his ribcage, sending him flying. He had completely forgotten about the Rock Clones and now he was paying for it. He rolled for a moment before pulling a Kawarimi on his own.

He took a moment to assess his situation. It didn't look well. His ribs were aching and his whole body was burning, but not due to the demon's chakra. That short rush had left him about the same time they exited the earth dome. It was just sheer exhaustion. For a moment he considered yielding, but then the ground under his feet moved. He didn't have time for thinking anymore, he only reacted.

Akatsuchi was having similar thoughts. He as well was injured and exhausted, but he couldn't stop. Not when his grandfather – his Kage – had entrusted him with a mission. Not when he saw firsthand just how dangerous the small child in front of him was. He gathered his remaining chakra to begin a maneuver that would insure his victory and death of the little pest.

Naruto jumped up as soon as he felt the ground shift. He didn't get neither high nor far. The soil disappearing from under his feet prevented it. 'I should switch with something,' occurred to him, but before he could turn the thought into deed the ground suddenly appeared again, trapping his feet. The Kawarimi failed.

Akatsuchi swore. He had intended to fully bury his opponent, but his chakra supply had ran out on him and the Disappearing Ground technique ended too soon. He could have guessed it by its slow start, it was the only thing that allowed the other genin to jump at all. But it didn't matter now. The Konoha child was trapped. Lack of chakra didn't matter anymore. He'll finish him off with his bare hands. Scratch it, he'll take a kunai to make sure.

Naruto was thinking frantically. He was stuck and something in the ground surrounding his feet prevented him from getting out. He tried cutting the rock, but even Wind-sharpened blades couldn't do more than put a dent into it. His back was unprotected. His clones had already been destroyed by Akatsuchi's, but, on a positive note, the two Rock clones were now lying on the ground motionless. It still left the original to attack him. He created two Shadow Clones to cover his back, but he knew they wouldn't last long against the Tsuchikage's grandson. Exhaustion was setting into his bones. No matter how he thought about it, he was screwed. It didn't even occur to him he could yield. The fact that this was just a competition was forgotten somewhere along the way. Now it was a death match.

Rustle of sand betrayed his opponent's approach. He tried to look, but he couldn't turn fully with his legs bound by the Doton technique. He saw over his shoulder how the clones attacked with Slicing scream and then dispersed. Their chakra supply had run out. The redhead was forced to dodge and suffered a few cuts, but soon he was coming at him again.

Naruto gathered his chakra to his hands and turned it into the Wind element. He still couldn't make a long blade, but it wouldn't matter if his opponent came close enough. If he came from an angle he could hit him at all. Akatsuchi realized that as well. He changed his course to always come at the blond's back. The trapped genin turned left and right, but he still couldn't face him fully. And then the overgrown redhead came within range.

Naruto stabbed with his left hand, but he only glanced one of the giant's thighs. Akatsuchi aimed for his neck. He bent forward to avoid a lethal hit. The kunai plunged deep between his ribs.

It didn't hurt. He knew that it should, but there was only the coldness of the steel piercing too close to his heart. He opened his mouth half in surprise, half in silent scream.

Then pain suddenly hit him as the blade was slowly retracted from his body. Red clouded his vision. He turned with speed he didn't know he possessed and struck the enemy just as he was preparing for another stab. The huge youth flew back and hit the arena wall with a crack. He slumped on the ground unconscious.

Naruto forcibly freed his feet from the trap. The chakra enforcing the soil couldn't withstand the strong flow of Kyuubi's youki. Some small part of Naruto's brain realized that it was flowing through his body almost as strongly as during his fight with Gaara. The rest didn't care. He simply wanted to tear apart the insect that dared to try to kill him. _**"Yes,"**_ resounded in his consciousness. "Naruto!" It came from an incredible distance. He wanted to ignore it, but something told him it was important. Who was calling him anyway?

He noticed his sensei jumping into the arena. What was he doing here? The match… that's right, the match. He was fighting the second round of the Chuunin exam finals. His opponent was lying on the ground unmoving, bleeding. He had won. He didn't need to kill him. Why did he even want to anyway? He had almost given in to the demon. He concentrated his will and forced the red chakra to recede back into the seal. Tenzo didn't even have to use his trees.

The blond slumped to his knees. He clutched at his chest. It hurt, but the demon's power had already worked its magic. The wound closed. He felt tired. There were strong arms encircling him, hugging him to somebody's chest. Tenzo, he realized. Somebody appeared nearby. The proctor. He barely heard Maruishi declare him the winner. Darkness was already gnawing at the edges of his vision. He had the vague sensation of being lifted and carried. Then even that disappeared. He finally fainted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oonoki couldn't believe what he was seeing. His grandson, his precious little Akatsuchi, was slumped on the ground, four deep gashes across his chest. He wanted to jump down to the arena, to help his boy, to slay that monster that had hurt (killed?) him, to make sure that a blond devil of Konoha wouldn't hurt another of his people, he wanted to… He felt a hard stare upon him. He glanced from the corner of his eye to its source. The Hokage was sitting there, outwardly unemotional, but in fact alert, waiting for any provocation. He knew that if he tried to jump down Sarutobi would be right on top of him, and although the other Kage wasn't the Yellow Flash, he was known as the God of Shinobi for a reason. He didn't want to find out the hard way which one of them was better. Idly, he wondered whether the other man was having trouble with his hips too. The Kazekage was seated between them, seemingly unconcerned, but in fact watching every twitch with maximum attention. The short man suppressed a sigh. He couldn't do anything now. But later… later was a completely different matter. He leaned back in his seat (why do they make them so uncomfortable anyway? He wasn't getting any younger), and watched as the medics ran into the arena with an impassive expression. He'd wait for now.

"That was quite a fight," the Kazekage said. "Too bad nobody would be advancing to the finals."

"Why so?" the Hokage asked. "Uzumaki would be alright by the time the final start."

"He was expressly forbidden from using the demon's chakra under the penalty of immediate disqualification," the Kazekage elaborated.

"Is that so?" Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware there was such a rule. I wasn't even aware that it was possible to make a rule specifically discriminating against one contestant."

"Everything is allowed," the Tsuchikage added. "Such is the rule of the final matches." The Hokage was surprised. Just why did Oonoki help? He would expect him to hinder Naruto. 'He wants him to lose the finals,' he realized. 'He hopes he would get killed and if not, he'd gain more information about his abilities.' Should he allow it? Should he allow the Kazekage get away with a blatant disregard for the rules?

"It is what the Exams are based upon," he said. "Shouldn't a shinobi be prepared to face anything, a jinchuuriki included?"

The Kazekage saw he was outnumbered. "Very well," he decided. "Uzumaki Naruto is allowed to continue."

He turned to watch the arena floor. The only Suna semifinalist was fighting next. After the debacle in the first round, he'd better win or Suna would look even weaker than it really was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Spectators' stands~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What was that?" asked Kiba. Tsume knew what he wanted to know, but she couldn't answer. The Law forbade it. She couldn't tell her son even this, but he demanded an answer and he wouldn't stop pestering her until she told him something.

"I'm not sure," she said. "I think I've heard about a technique like that before, but it's been a long time ago."

"Technique?" asked Kiba. "It was quite something. I've never heard about anything like that."

"That's because you're still a pup," she answered.

"I'm already at the Academy, mind you," he scowled. Tsume smiled inwardly. The conversation had been successfully steered away from dangerous themes.

"Isn't Hana fighting next?" Kuromaru asked.

"She is," Tsume confirmed. The Inuzuka trio turned their attention to the upcoming match, the last one forgotten.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Finalists' booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kurotsuchi watched in horror as her brother crumpled to the ground. Even though she had constantly teased him about being slow and thick, she recognized Akatsuchi as a strong and capable shinobi. She wasn't prepared to see him defeated, despite knowing what he was facing. She wanted to jump down and rip the little terror into pieces. 'Next round,' she reminded herself. She just needed to advance to the final and then she could tear him legally. The only thing she had to do was defeat a purple Konoha wench. No problem at all for an accomplished kunoichi like her. She summoned what little patience she could find and waited.

Both Hana and Hotaru watched worriedly as Naruto was carried from the arena by Tenzo-sensei. They had seen enough proof of his healing ability, but this wound looked serious.

"That was close to the heart," the Inuzuka said. Too bad she couldn't see where exactly the kunai had hit.

"I think if it failed to kill him on the spot, he'll be alright," Hotaru said.

"I hope so," the brunette replied.

"And don't get depressed now," the purple-haired girl advised. "You're next."

"Yes," the dog mistress nodded. Her dogs barked encouragingly. She smiled. "You're right. Let's go and kick somebody's butt. That's the best remedy for depression."

* * *

So that's the end for today. The plot is thickening, isn't it?

Next time: The rest of the semifinals.


	23. Mayhem, mesh and miniskirts

**A.N.:** So here finally comes another chapter. I hope you'll enjoy the fights. And thanks to everybody who reviewed so far!

**A.N.2**: Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I wish I was that rich.**

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"The second match of the semifinal: Gennosuke of Suna against Inuzuka Hana of Konoha," Maruishi called.

Hana walked into the arena with a self-assured gait. She didn't actually feel that confident, her chakra was still low, but every one of hers and her dogs' injuries were treated and she even found a bit of time to rest. The break between rounds had helped her immensely. But she wouldn't be doing another Garouga today, that was for sure.

Gennosuke entered the battlefield confidently as well. Removing all the honey from Hisan Uma proved to be harder than he had expected, but he finally managed when the previous match was halfway in. He had almost no time to rest, but he didn't mind. He hadn't really exerted himself during his own duel. He was running a bit low on poisons and drugs, they were hard to acquire for him, but he was sure he would manage.

The proctor started the match and disappeared in a swirl of sand.

Hana didn't waste a moment. The instant the match begun she and her dogs started forward. Gennosuke moved his puppet into defensive position. The dogs jumped high overhead. The puppeteer hadn't expected it and the volley of senbon missed them. The Suna genin noticed something flying at him from the corner of his eye. He instinctively ducked, but was hit from the other side. He felt warmth seeping into his clothes. What the hell was that? He looked at the spot in alarm. It was yellowish in appearance. Surely it can't be…

A few steps away the Inuzuka smirked. 'Dynamic air marking' successful.' She knew enough about the puppet masters to expect him to try and hide himself or replace himself with a puppet. She saw his strategy in the previous match. He came into the arena as himself and concealed himself later on. It gave her an opening to make sure he won't be able to disappear on her.

Gennosuke just confirmed that the stuff on his robes was exactly what his initial assessment said. It indeed was dog piss. It pissed him of. How dare that bitch let her mutts piss on him? She was going down in the most painful and humiliating way, he was going to see to it. He turned around and searched for his opponent. He couldn't see her, just four of her dogs. 'There were only three of them,' he realized, 'but which one of them is her? Never mind, I'll just take out all of them.'

He shot some more senbon at them, but the dogs were fast and agile, avoiding every single one of his projectiles. 'OK, time for the big guns,' thought Gennosuke. A part of him doubted it was wise to reveal his trump card so early in the game, but another told him that a card never played is like no card at all. The dog girl seemed to be a tough opponent, he wouldn't win if he'd hold back.

He sent a command through his chakra strings. The sides of the horse-like puppet unfolded into a pair of giant wings. Hana's eyes widened in surprise. "So you see now why my puppet is called Hisan Uma," he laughed evilly. "Behold the wings of despair!"

The puppet turned to face the four canines. Its wings were spread wide and the Inuzukas could clearly see the senbon and kunai launchers along them. 'If all of them fired at once, we'd be pincushions and there's no way to dodge it,' the dog mistress thought. She briefly regretted not knowing a Doton defensive jutsu. It could have saved her skin here. But she wasn't going to panic. There were other ways to deal with such threats.

"Gatsuuga!" Four furry tornadoes started after the Sand ninja. The puppet released its weapons, but the needles couldn't find purchase on the rapidly spinning bodies and were batted away, only a handful of them piercing the skin. Gennosuke's eyes widened at this. He performed a quick Kawarimi to get away. It severed his connection with Hisan Uma. The puppet sagged before one Tsuuga slammed into its side. The construction flew away, splinters following like rain.

Hana appeared from the rubble, cursing and spitting dust. She scrambled to her feet and surveyed the results of the clash. Two of her dogs were lying on the ground, senbon protruding from their coats. It seemed the needles were poisoned and her partners were down for the count. She hoped fervently it was nothing lethal, but she was going to tear the Suna upstart a new one for this anyway.

A wave of nausea hit her. She didn't escape unscatched herself. Damn, that was no good. She now had to wrap it up in under a minute. She called her last standing dog to her. She couldn't see their opponent, but it didn't matter. He was already marked and couldn't hide from her nose. It was now telling her that the puppeteer was behind a boulder to her left, digging himself into the sand. She started after him.

Gennosuke was fuming. Not only had that flea-infested bitch let her dogs piss on him, now she even broke Hisan Uma. It would be a long time before he could repair it, not to mention the cost. Wood was expensive in the desert. A sound woke him up from his musings. That girl and one of her dogs were running at him. 'She knows where I am,' he realized. For a moment panic threatened to overtake him, but he calmed quickly. There were things she obviously didn't know about puppeteers. Hisan Uma might have a hole in its side, but he was far from useless. He reconnected the chakra strings in an instant.

Hana was almost on top of her enemy, when her sensitive ears picked a disturbing sound. She shot a glance over her shoulder. The puppet was up again and charging at her. Ten kunai flew towards her, but she managed to dodge. She swore. Whatever poison got into her system earlier was spreading. The simple act of turning her head caused her an attack of vertigo. She had precious little time now and she couldn't waste it on some puppet. She had to go straight after its master and hope she'd get him sooner than the wooden horse gets her.

She decided to gamble. She poured whatever chakra she had left into one last Tsuuga. She flew over the boulder and plunged headfirst into the ground. Gennosuke was so startled by her reckless attack that he forgot to do a Kawarimi until it was too late and he had no other way of dodging underground. The miniature tornado slammed into him.

Hana felt her claws dig into soft flesh. Warm blood flowed between her fingers. 'I got him,' she thought. She tried to move, but she was too tired. Maybe she could take a nap… No, the match still wasn't called. She summoned all her remaining strength and pushed herself upwards. It wasn't the best idea. The vertigo came back with a vengeance. Stars flooded her field of vision. She slumped back to the ground, her world dissolving into darkness.

Gennosuke was in a world of pain. The attack hit him head on. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened had the layer of sand not been present to absorb most of the attack's force. Even now he felt like she broke all his ribs and tore the muscle from the bones. His armor did little to stop her, though he figured without it the damage would have been worse.

He bit his lips to prevent himself from screaming and pushed the girl's body off of him. It gave him a lot more trouble than it should. He took a short break before the pain subsided a bit, then lifted himself into a sitting position. The brunette was lying next to him, the last dog licking her face frantically. She remained motionless. The canine then turned to him and bared its teeth in a threatening manner. It was going to attack, the Suna genin just knew it. He had barely any strength left, but he still retained some of his equipment. With a flick of a wrist a small orb slid into his palm. He threw it at the dog, hitting its snout. The pouch exploded in a cloud of green smoke. The animal yelped in surprise, sneezed, swayed on its paws unsteadily and then fell over. The knockout gas took effect quickly. Gennosuke wasn't affected only because he took the antidote before every battle he entered.

He tried to stand, but he couldn't muster the necessary strength. He ended up just kneeling, leaning on his hands. The proctor appeared behind him and examined the downed Inuzuka. Deciding she was indeed out, he called the match. "Winner: Gennosuke." The competitor in question just exhaled in relief. He immediately regretted it because his ribcage didn't agree with such sudden motion. Both genin had to be carried off on a stretcher. It was bad. He didn't know whether he'd be able to fight in the final, but then, the winner of the previous match had to be carried off as well. Maybe he wouldn't be competing. Yes, that was it. He'll just wait and see what state the third finalist would end up in. After all, he would be facing just a little kid and a girl. He didn't need to move around to control his puppet. He tried to tell himself that it wouldn't be too tough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Spectators' stands~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hana!" Kiba cried jumping from his seat.

"Hold back," Tsume chastised him, but she herself was barely restraining herself from jumping down into the arena. She knew the Chuunin Exams were dangerous, shinobi life as a whole was dangerous, she had witnessed her fair share of injury and death, but seeing it happening to her own daughter was quite different. She could tell from experience that her wounds itself weren't serious, but there was no telling what kind of poison coated the puppeteer's weapons. She had fought in the Third Great Shinobi War and saw enough of Suna puppet masters' handiwork. She could just pray that the boy didn't use anything lethal for the Exams. She watched as the medics ran into the arena and started emergency treatment on both genin before hauling them off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Very little finesse in this match," the Tsuchikage observed, "but as a show of brute strength it was interesting."

"Too bad it looks like the winner wouldn't be able to fight in the final," the Hokage commented.

"A true puppeteer doesn't need to move to fight," the Kazekage replied. One of the Suna genin advanced into the final and he would be fighting there, he was going to bully the medics personally to enable it. Having one contestant among the last three was at least a small remedy on the shame that were the quarterfinals.

"But he needs to hold his temper in check," Sarutobi pointed out. The Kazekage could only grit his teeth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Finalists' booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotaru watched with worry as her female teammate was carried off. When she saw how the usually so strong Inuzuka fell quickly, she was deeply worried. She wanted to turn to somebody for comfort, but the only other occupant of the booth was her next opponent, who was looking at her in an unfriendly manner, mildly put. She understood the girl was upset because of her brother, but she didn't have to take it out on her. She'd like very much to beat the attitude out of the red-clad girl, but despite her decorative attire the Iwa kunoichi already proved to be capable. Hotaru doubted she would be able to defeat her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Arena~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The third math of the semifinals, Uzuki Hotaru of Konoha versus Kurotsuchi of Iwa," Maruishi announced.

The two combatants for the last semifinal match entered the arena with much anxiety. There was more at stake than in any of the previous matches. It didn't happen often for a kunoichi to win the Chuunin Exams tournament, almost never in fact, but now there was a real chance of it happening. Considering what state the previous two finalists were in when they were carried from the arena, if the winner of this one could walk away on her own two feet, she would be almost guaranteed to win even the next one. That is if the final battle would even happen. She might just win by default, but even that counted.

And Kurotsuchi had one more reason to win. If she did, she would face the dreadful blond boy who had hurt her brother so badly. She wasn't allowed to the infirmary and the doctors didn't tell her how he was, but that in itself meant something. Her dear little Akatsuchi was badly hurt and she was dead set on avenging him. She only needed to get through this wench. If she killed her in the process, it would just make her vengeance sweeter.

The two girls stood facing each other, trying to intimidate the opponent. Hotaru had to admit it was working. The Iwa kunoichi had shown a lot of strength in her first duel. The jutsu that covered half of the arena… she didn't know what she would do if she unleashed it on her. But then the black-haired girl won only with luck when the hit of her enemy's kunai unintentionally broke his genjutsu. And the Tsuchikage's granddaughter was Earth type and she was Lightning. Lightning beat Earth in the elemental cycle. She was at advantage here. She wasn't going to lose to her. Dattebayo, as her young teammate would say.

Maruishi stood next to them. "Ready? Begin," he signaled and disappeared from the arena.

Hotaru didn't have much of a strategy formed in her head. She simply charged her kodachi with Lightning chakra and ran in for an attack. Kurotsuchi just stood there unmoving. She just lifted her hands and performed handseals. 'She's readying defense,' Hotaru thought. 'Let's see how it holds.' She smirked and prepared to strike.

Then some instinct warned her and she swerved to the side. She narrowly avoided being impaled on the other kunoichi's kunai. 'Genjutsu,' she realized. 'She made me think she didn't move. I have to be extra careful here.'

She brought her hands up in the dispelling sign. "Kai," she whispered. Nothing happened. Did it mean that there was no other illusion or that the Iwa girl was too good with them? 'Probably the first,' decided Hotaru. 'She seemed to have trouble with Daiki's genjutsu.' She stayed on guard nevertheless.

Kurotsuchi was mildly disappointed that the leaf girl saw through her illusion so quickly. She had hoped to finish this fight soon, conserving her energy for the finals, but now it seemed like she would have to actually work for her victory. Ah, well, never mind. She always enjoyed a good challenge.

The Konoha girl was charging her sword with Lightning chakra again. Kurotsuchi decided that she definitely didn't want to be hit with this. She would have to keep the fight long-distance. She ran her hands through a series of seals and then stomped down forcibly. A fissure appeared in the ground and headed straight for the purple-haired girl. Hotaru jumped to the side. Kurotsuchi smirked and with another handsign released a second jutsu. Hotaru's feet touched the ground and sank in. Then she turned into a boulder. Kurotsuchi's smirk disappeared. She really hated Kawarimi, especially when it meant her victims escaping.

She jumped to the side as well. It turned out to be a wise decision, since the place she had been standing on was showered by lightning bolts. She turned around and threw a handful of kunai at the swordsgirl. She evaded nimbly. Kurotsuchi made a seal and activated the exploding tags. Hotaru was thrown forward and changed into a rock. Did Kurotsuchi already mention she hated the Kawarimi? She jumped to the side again. This time the lightning grazed her leg and made her stumble. 'Not good,' she thought. This hit wasn't serious, but she couldn't afford to sustain any more. She needed to hit the Leaf kunoichi first, but she was too good at dodging. She needed a wide area technique that didn't leave anywhere to dodge. She had tried the Stone Rose Garden once before, but she thought she could get better results now her mind wasn't clouded by some freaky ability.

Hotaru jumped high when the ground under her feet shifted. She looked down and saw stone vines sprouting from the sand, every one of them bearing sharp-looking thorns. A quick glance showed that most of the arena was affected. Dodging wasn't an option anymore. She quickly sheathed her blade and ran through the handseals. She had to finish the jutsu airborne, or she would be in a world of trouble. She made it just in time. Lightning sprang from her fingers, hitting in a perfect circle right under her. The stone roses in the target area were destroyed. Hotaru landed on safe ground.

It didn't stay safe for long. Kurotsuchi pulled more chakra into her technique and soon roses appeared even in the burnt circle. 'That's bad,' thought Hotaru. 'How long can she keep it up anyway?' Her blade crackled with lightning again. She attacked. She ran forward slashing at the stone vines left and right. They tried to ensnare her, but she kept dodging and evading. Some thorns managed to scratch her legs, but she paid it no heed.

Kurotsuchi realized her strategy wasn't working. The Leaf girl was closing in on her. She ran her hands through another series of seals and slammed them into the ground.

Hotaru noticed too late that the roses around her started crumbling. She looked up in surprise, guessing where the next attack would come from. That's when she felt the ground soften under her feet. She jumped before the quicksand could entrap her and performed a Kawarimi.

She thought herself safe for a moment, but Kurotsuchi had guessed correctly where she would appear. Kunai with explosive tags were almost upon her, the notes already burning. She made a great leap sideways and released the chakra from her blade in one burst. It wasn't much in the way of defense, but in protected her from the blast somewhat. Instead of being knocked out she was just burned and struggling to catch her breath.

Kurotsuchi threw more kunai. Hotaru mustered the strength needed for another Kawarimi. This time the Iwa kunoichi's guess of her next location was off and the purple-haired girl gained a few seconds to haul herself to her feet. Her reprieve didn't last long. She saw Kurotsuchi running at her with kunai in both hands. She smiled grimly. If close combat was what the Rock girl wanted, she would get some. Hotaru was good at this.

Just when she was about to cleave the other girl in half, she noticed something odd. Her feet didn't leave footprints, but some were appearing about a step to the left. 'Another genjutsu,' Hotaru realized. 'But now I know where she is.' She struck the air above the phantom footsteps. Her blade passed right through. 'What?' Her body reacted on its own. She started dodging. She didn't make it, but the kunai just slid along her rib instead of plunging between them. The genjutsu was broken. The footprints disappeared and appeared exactly where the red-clad girl had passed through.

Kurotsuchi grimaced. This was one of her better genjutsu and she had hoped to gain a more decisive result than this. Sure, her opponent was now clutching the side of her chest, but she was still in the game. The black-haired girl barely avoided another lightning bolt. She couldn't afford to drag this fight much longer. All the techniques she pulled so far cost her too much chakra, so no more ninjutsu today. She reached into her pouch. She still had a couple of blast notes left. Now just how to make sure they'd hit. She could try another genjutsu, but the pain the Konoha kunoichi was in would disrupt it quickly.

Hotaru was having similar thoughts. She was wounded, bleeding and tired to boot. She had to land a finishing blow before she dropped with exhaustion. She gathered her strength and ran at her opponent in a straight line. Kurotsuchi tensed. She prepared her kunai to strike. The other girl wasn't using Lightning chakra anymore, so she could fight her close up. When the purple-clad girl was almost upon her, she sidestepped. Hotaru's kodachi missed her narrowly. She stabbed with her kunai. It hit the other girl's torso with a sound of metal hitting rock. 'Not another Kawarimi,' she thought exasperatedly. She whirled around to see where the Konoha kunoichi was now. The movement made her head swim. 'I must be more tired than I thought,' she realized.

She spotted the other girl running at her again, this time with blade crackling with yellow light. She threw a couple of shuriken at her. The purple-haired girl didn't even bother to dodge, the projectiles went wide. 'Since when do I have such a bad aim?' Kurotsuchi wondered. Then it struck her.

"Kai!" The word instantly spun before coming back into focus. 'A direction-skewering genjutsu,' she realized. 'She must have cast it when I turned around, that was what the vertigo meant. If I hadn't thrown the shuriken, I wouldn't have noticed it until too late.' But she didn't have time to consider the might-have-beens. Once Hotaru realized her ploy had fallen, she lunged together with a desperate burst of speed and unleashed the Lightning from her blade. Only a last-moment Kawarimi saved Kurotsuchi from being fried.

Hotaru lost her balance and fell. She had given her everything to that last attack and it failed. The wound on her ribs seriously affected the mobility on her right arm and though the blood loss wasn't that bad in itself, combined with the exhaustion it was enough to make her feel lightheaded. She scrambled to her feet. On the other side of the arena Kurotsuchi was doing the same. Her Kawarimi was almost too late and a few bolts had electrocuted her. It was all she could do not to lose concentration and finish the technique. It occurred to her that she might lose the fight. 'No,' she thought, loss was plain unacceptable. Not if it would mean she'd lose her chance at avenging Akatsuchi as well. She didn't think of what good would she do in her current state. She mustered all her remaining strength and cast a genjutsu on her still disoriented opponent.

Hotaru didn't notice anything wrong. She just saw Kurotsuchi limping towards her, a pair of kunai in her hands. She assumed the basic kenjutsu stance, or the best approximation her sore body allowed. She waited for her opponent to come closer. Just a little longer, she was almost at striking distance now…

Hotaru felt a kunai touch her ribs. With speed she didn't know she was still capable of she fell backwards. The blade pierced her nevertheless, but the wound wasn't deep enough to be life-threatening. The Iwa kunoichi towered above her, the bloodied weapon in her hand coupled with her blood-red clothes and the expression in her eyes made her look like a goddess of wrath. Hotaru swung her kodachi, but Kurotsuchi easily avoided. She tried to charge her sword with lightning again, but her strength was leaving her rapidly along with the blood flowing from her veins. Her opponent looked like she wanted to kill her. Scratch it, she really wanted to kill her, the purple-clad girl realized as she barely blocked a stab. The kick to her wounded ribs she couldn't block. It made her cough up blood. There was just one way out of the situation in her mind.

"I yield," she called between the coughs. Kurotsuchi ignored it and attacked again. Hotaru didn't have enough strength to block anymore, but she managed to deflect the kunai from her heart to her shoulder.

Maruishi appeared in the arena. "The match is over," he called. "Winner: Kurotsuchi!"

The Iwa kunoichi readied for another strike. The proctor caught her arm. "I said the fight is over. Do you want to be disqualified?"

No, she didn't want that. Not before she got her hands on the blond bastard. She released her grip on the handle. The kunai fell to the ground, scratching Hotaru's leg on its way down. The purple-haired kunoichi barely noticed. She was halfway unconscious by the time. Kurotsuchi gave her one last glance. She would have liked to kick her around some more, but not for the price of forfeiting her chance to avenge her brother. She turned on her heel and headed for the infirmary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This was a good fight," the Kazekage observed. "Both combatants showed strategy and skill. Today shinobi often forget the value of genjutsu."

"Indeed," the Hokage agreed. "They both showed great potential and I would vote for both of them, if it wasn't for the end of the match. Your granddaughter attacked her downed opponent even after the match was called. Such disobedience isn't tolerated in a chuunin."

"She was distraught over the injury of her brother," the Tsuchikage said.

"That isn't an excuse," Sarutobi pointed out. "Doesn't she know rule twenty-five?"

Oonoki didn't answer. The Professor was right as usual. Shinobi couldn't afford to let their emotions hinder them, he taught it to his grandchildren himself. An Iwa ninja must have a Heart of Stone, he told them countless times. That didn't change the fact he wanted to rip a certain Konoha genin to pieces with his bare hands. But he had earned the title of Tsuchikage for a reason. He was patient. He would wait for the best opportunity and then strike with deadly efficiency. The wait would just make his revenge that much sweeter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The infirmary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He visited his grandson in the infirmary again. It seemed like it was everything he was doing during the breaks this Exams. It was disturbing. But this time Akatsuchi wasn't joking around, boasting how he was going to squish his next opponent. He was lying motionlessly on his back, his tanned skin now ashen, almost as pale as the sheets. Kurotsuchi was sitting by his side, holding his hand. She stood up when he entered, but he motioned her to sit back down. A medic was nearby, checking the patient's vitals.

"How is he?" the Oonoki asked.

"He is stable now, Tsuchikage-sama," the woman replied. "His wounds are deep and that strange chakra that inflicted them makes them hard to heal. Fortunately none of them had hit a vital organ, otherwise… But that isn't the worst problem. As he impacted with the wall, his skull has been cracked. We managed to stop the bleeding to the brain, but there was a bone fragment we are unable to remove. He's in a coma and we cannot tell when he'll wake. If he will wake."

A heavy silence permeated the room. The midget man once more couldn't believe his ears. His cute little grandson, always so lively, getting into mischief, was lying there so still and the medic was telling him he would stay that way. It was just too much to bear. He had already lost his son, and now he was facing losing another one.

"I will kill him for sure," Kurotsuchi said. Her wounds were mild and the mednin finished treating them already.

"No," he stopped her. "That one is strong. You saw what he did to your brother. I don't want to lose you too."

"You won't," the girl assured him. "You know I'm better then Red. Besides that little brat is exhausted and wounded. You saw they had to carry him from the arena. Maybe he won't even be in the final?"

"Maybe, but don't count on it," he chided. "He's resilient, that much I could gather. And you aren't at your full strength now. Kurotsuchi, be careful."

"Aren't I always?" the kunoichi smirked.

"Do you really want me to answer it," the old man asked in return. "Kill him if you can, but don't risk yourself. We can always get him later should you fail."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The infirmary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He didn't recognize the room he was in, but the smell told him beyond a doubt that it was a hospital. The voices of nurses were another clue. He realized he was awoken when the door opened and slammed into the wall. Two nurses were pushing a wheeled bed in. Atop it Hana was lying, clearly unconscious.

"Hana!" he called. The nurses looked at him in surprise.

"You're awake already?" one of them asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Yes," he answered sitting up.

"You should be resting," she admonished him.

"Why? I'm alright," he claimed, even though he felt a bit under the weather. Well, more than a bit under the weather, but that didn't mean he had to stay in a hospital.

"Let the doctors decide that," the nurse declared. Naruto scowled at her.

"I'm fine." Then his eyes find Hana's still form on the bed. "What happened to her?"

"She lost her match," the woman explained. "It's nothing serious, just some paralyzing agent on the needles, but it took the medics a while to get the right antidote. She just needs time to get it out of her system. She's much better off then your other teammate."

"What's with Hotaru?" Naruto asked alarmed.

"She lost her match as well," the nurse briefed him. "The Iwa girl did quite a number on her."

"How is she?" the blond demanded.

"I don't know," the nurse shrugged. "She is still in the surgery."

Naruto hopped off the bed.

"And just where do you think you are going, young man?" the woman scowled. Naruto ignored her. Ignoring scowling people had become second nature to him a long time ago.

The other nurse whispered something into her ear urgently. Naruto didn't catch it all, but there was something about Gaara. The first nurse paled and tried to make herself invisible. Naruto ran past her, paying it no heed.

In the hallway he almost ran into Hana's mother and her little brother.

"Sorry," he stammered.

"Nothing happened," Tsume replied.

"I just wanted to see Hotaru. Do you know how she is?"

"Sorry, but I don't know," the Inuzuka matriarch answered.

"Hey, how comes you're up?" Kiba asked.

"What?"

"Weren't you hurt?" the dark-haired boy questioned.

"Oh that? It wasn't as bad as it looked," Naruto tried to brush it aside.

"It looked pretty bad from where I was," Kiba argued.

Tsume didn't like the direction the conversation was heading and decided to change it. "You shouldn't bother him, Kiba. Naruto has to go to the Final. You wouldn't want him to be disqualified for being late because of you?"

"The Final?" Naruto didn't understand. "But he said if I…"

"Well," the Inuzuka clan head interrupted, "they announced you are in the last match."

"Really? But… They would let me sleep through it!" Anger and horror waged a war on his face. "Sorry, gotta go. Bye!" And he ran off to the arena.

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A.N.: Poor Naruto, he really doesn't get a break.

Next time: The final match (what else).


	24. The Final Match

**A.N.:** Once again thanks to everybody who read and reviewed. I reached another point in the story that is hard to write, so I'll slow the release of the chapters until I'm over it. So be warned.

Now on to the story.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So the last match is about to start," the Kazekage remarked, "and it's the best of Suna against the best of Iwa."

"That it is," the Tsuchikage agreed. "Too bad that yours champion didn't show up, Sarutobi-dono," Oonoki said, a smirk carefully hidden in his voice. There was nothing better for the aged Kage then getting one up over Konoha.

"It is," the Hokage agreed, "but he is still young. He would have plenty of chances in the upcoming years." There wasn't a trace of disappointment in the Professor's voice.

In fact, Sarutobi was secretly pleased with himself. He managed to put the Kazekage into his place by preventing him from disqualifying Naruto while the Tsuchikage's plans would be disrupted by the simple fact that the boy wouldn't be fighting in the final match because he was lying in the infirmary unconscious. He watched as the proctor called for the participants to come down and the Iwa girl and the Suna boy took their places in the middle of the arena. Then Naruto came running form a side door and stood beside them. Crap. The best laid plans…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Arena~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He made it just in time. Both Kurotsuchi and Gennosuke were already waiting and the proctor was about to start the fight without him. Kurotsuchi looked beaten up, but she was standing on her own. Gennosuke's condition was hard to assess under his clothing, but he was sitting on Hisan Uma and his breathing sounded strained. 'Girls must have put up quite a fight,' Naruto thought.

"So nice of you to show up," Maruishi commented sarcastically. "We were about to start without you."

"Sorry," Naruto apologized. "My sensei was so worried for my teammates that he forgot to wake me up."

"Whatever. Now you're finally up, we can begin," the proctor said. "The rules for the three-way match are following: Anything goes. If somebody is unconscious, he's out. If I decide somebody cannot continue the fight, I can declare him out. Whoever yields is out. The last one standing is the winner. Understood?" The three genin nodded. "Well, then Final match: Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha, Gennosuke of Suna and Kurotsuchi of Iwa: Begin!" And he disappeared from the arena.

Kurotsuchi wasted no time and ran her hands through seals. She didn't want to drag this battle needlessly and most importantly she didn't want to face two opponents at once. She planned to take out the weaker one of them first, and she decided it was Gennosuke. The puppeteer was barely holding himself upright on his horse-like puppet.

The Sand genin wasn't idle as well. He knew his wounds could reopen anytime and then he would pass out of blood loss. He had to act quickly. He commanded Hisan Uma to spread its wings. He didn't have the time and energy to refill all the hidden compartments, but it would have to do. He sent hails of poisoned senbon on both his opponents.

Naruto knew he'd have to act quickly. The Iwa kunoichi was out for his blood and he couldn't count on getting any help from the Suna puppeteer. He'd hate having to fight both of them at once. Going after the wounded one first was a logical choice. When the senbon launched, he was already moving. He didn't dodge, instead he created a Wind Shield. The senbon were blown away harmlessly. He performed another series of handseals. 'Fuuton: Great Breakthrough' was his jutsu of choice. He figured that if he managed to knock the Suna genin down, the pain from his injuries would incapacitate him. Gennosuke realized it as well. He escaped via a Kawarimi before Naruto's technique could hit.

He didn't have time to look where the puppeteer had disappeared to. A flicker of movement in the corner of his eye had warned him of Kurotsuchi's approach. He turned to face her, drawing his sword, charging it with Wind chakra.

The air moved against his skin in a way it wasn't supposed to. He jumped back and slashed his blade at the area he suspected the disturbance originated from. He was rewarded by a hiss of pain, before the genjutsu making Kurotsuchi appear a step away from where she really was disappeared. He didn't have time to assess how badly he wounded her, a swish of kunai sailing through the air reminded him there was one more opponent still in the game. He switched with a boulder.

He turned around to survey the situation. Kurotsuchi was in the middle of the arena, dodging senbon, bleeding from a shallow cut across her stomach. Gennosuke was nowhere to be seen, but Hisan Uma was running towards the Iwa girl, firing his poisoned weapons. The puppet was badly battered, but it was still moving, despite splinters falling from the dry wood from time to time. 'That can be exploited,' Naruto decided. Despite feeling down on chakra, he created a Shadow Clone. He waited for the horse-like device to move into the right position and then unleashed his favorite Wind-Fire combo. The puppet tried to escape, but not before it was caught by the raging flames. It was charred and smoking, but didn't catch on fire. 'Crap,' Naruto thought. 'There must be fire-suppressing seals on it.'

So he had just spectacularly wasted a lot of chakra and a rustle of sand alerted him to Kurotsuchi's approach. He unsheathed his ninjato and prepared to face her. The kunoichi threw some kunai at him. He dodged easily. He ran forward to engage her in close combat. Then he was thrown off his feet by the Exploding Tag wrapped around one of the kunai. He stumbled and the girl was quick to exploit it. He managed to block her kunai stab, but she kicked him in the stomach. He fell backwards. He tried to stab her, but she evaded nimbly. Then she looked at something over his head and her eyes widened momentarily. Naruto used the time to pull of a Kawarimi. It was a wise choice. The area they have been in was sprayed by senbon, courtesy of Hisan Uma. The third player in the match sure was bothersome. Naruto decided to find where Gennosuke was hiding and take him out before dealing with Kurotsuchi.

He couldn't see neither hair nor hide of him, so he decided to sniff him out. He was no Inuzuka, but his nose was quite sensitive and the puppeteer was bleeding. He could always pick the smell of blood easier than any other. The problem was that his wasn't the only blood spilled here today. Naruto tasted the air carefully and he almost had a direction. Then Kurotsuchi flung a kunai with Exploding tag at him and he was forced to evade. He lost the track of Gennosuke. Fighting two people at once sure was becoming an even bigger bother with each passing minute.

Naruto reached into his pouch and took out his own kunai with Exploding Tags. He was running low on them, but he had enough to blast both his opponents into smithereens, if he only could hit them. It was too bad he didn't have another wire net, but they were too hard to make and seal properly.

He threw the kunai at Kurotsuchi and Hisan Uma, tags already activated. The girl performed a quick Kawarimi, the puppet made a giant leap away. There were twin explosions of light and thunder. When they cleared, Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

'He did that trick in the first round,' the Iwa kunoichi thought, 'but I haven't caught how does it work. And more importantly, where is he?' She surveyed her surrounding, keeping an eye for the elusive Konoha genin. She decided to deal with the puppeteer before she would go looking for him.

Gennosuke observed the ground from his hiding spot. He as well didn't know how Naruto's disappearing trick worked, but he was experienced in stealth enough to guess what the youngest of the finalists would try to do. He kept his eyes open for any sign of Naruto's approach. And than he saw it. A small lizard was making its way across the sand. He smirked. That particular kind of lizards didn't live in this area. And even if they did, they would have ran from the arena as soon as the first match started. Gennosuke smirked. Such were the advantages of fighting on home ground. He aimed one of Hisan Uma's senbon launchers and fired. He hit his target perfectly. The lizard disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a kunai with an Explosive Tag behind. 'Crap, a clone,' Gennosuke thought. 'Where is the real one? And how many Blast Notes did he place around? And where exactly?' He wished he knew or at least had more time to find out, but Kurotsuchi chose that moment to attack.

The kunoichi had dredged up her last reserves of chakra and turned the ground under Hisan Uma into quicksand. The puppeteer tried to get his puppet away from the danger, but the ground solidified, trapping the wooden horse's hooves. Gennosuke swore inwardly. This wasn't good, but it wasn't hopeless either. He fired a volley of kunai at the girl, forcing her to dodge where the kunai with the Explosive Tag was lying. He hoped Naruto would activate it, taking her out that way.

Kurotsuchi realized she was in deep trouble. The last technique had drained her of almost all her remaining chakra and stars appeared in her vision. But even through them she could still see the trap laid on the ground. A Kawarimi would be a perfect solution, but she didn't think she had the energy anymore. 'I mustn't lose here, I must avenge Akatsuchi,' she repeated, but it failed to give her any more strength. She jumped away from the kunai and rolled on the ground near where the Explosive Tag laid. She saw it burst into flames. She forced her legs to move and leapt. Somehow she managed to get behind a boulder before the Tag went off. The blast only scorched the skin on her arm and leg. The pain nearly made her faint anyway. She lay on the ground trembling, waiting for it to subside.

Naruto sighed in relief. The puppeteer had made his job easier, the homicidal Iwa girl was out. The puppet was trapped. Now only if he could find its master and the match would be his. He grabbed his last two kunai with Blast Notes. Despite his high stamina and fast restoring of chakra reserves, he was running on his last leg here. He should refrain from using jutsu if possible. He jumped out of his hiding spot, sword in one hand, kunai in the other. He would try to place the blast notes inside the puppet through the hole Hana had made with her Tsuuga earlier.

The puppet started firing its deadly projectiles. Naruto dodged what he could, blocked what he couldn't. It was tricky, but fortunately he didn't have to get far, just into position for a good throw. Then too many projectiles to block were flying at him. He Screamed. The current of chakra-laced air blew the kunai away from him. It also lifted a large cloud of dust. Naruto threw a couple of kunai with handles wrapped in paper through it. Gennosuke used Hisan Uma's wing to bat them away. Naruto took a deep breath and pumped what little chakra he still had left to his legs. He sprinted through the dust cloud.

Smoke bombs exploded around him and he suspected that bad things would happen to whoever inhaled the greenish gas. Fortunately he took a deep breath beforehand. He came to expect such tricks from Suna shinobi. He was almost upon the horse. The wing lifted again, trying to reach him. Naruto dropped low and threw another set of kunai with paper tags on them. Hisan Uma unleashed a volley of senbon at him. It hit only the rock Naruto exchanged himself with. Two Explosive Notes were already smoking on its surface.

Gennosuke realized he was in deep trouble. He was hiding inside his puppet, which was trapped and two Blast Notes were about to go off in close vicinity. But he was a true puppeteer, which meant he had always more tricks up his sleeves. A command unhinged the joints on Hisan Uma's leg. The puppet leapt away, the shorter limbs making it harder, but it still managed to cover a fair distance before the explosion reached it. The intensity of the blast was diminished, but even the weak hit made his injured ribs hurt. He had to stop his movement and wait for the burning pain in his chest to lessen.

Naruto was about to congratulate himself for a job well done, when he noticed something on the ground next to his feet, namely a burning Explosive Tag. His eyes widened for a moment and he jumped backwards with all his might and threw his arms in front of his face. There wasn't enough time for a Kawarimi. 'How?' was the only thought in his head before the explosion threw him into the air. He tried to roll in the air in order to land on his feet, but the blast completely disoriented him. He landed on his back painfully, his breath knocked out.

Kurotsuchi smiled grimly. She had gathered her bearings after the hit in time to see the blond Konoha menace place the Explosive Notes on the rock. He was completely ignoring her, thinking she was down for the count. She let him think so. When he left the rock and charged for the trapped puppet, she took out her own Blast Notes and threw them close to the tagged rock. Let the brat taste his own medicine. When he inevitably switched with the boulder, she activated the tags remotely. She watched with satisfaction as the yellow menace flew through the air and landed with a thud. Now was her time to finish him. She got to her feet and limped towards her downed opponent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Infirmary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo waited for the medics to finish their work on Hotaru. Of all his three students, she was the worst off. The medics didn't even tell him her prognosis. From what he saw before she was hauled to the surgery, he gathered her wounds weren't fatal, but that was about it.

Then the door finally swung open and the doctors wheeled the bed with the still unconscious Hotaru out.

"How is she?" he asked.

"She will be fine," one medic answered. "None of the wounds hit anything vital and we were able to reconnect all the torn muscle. It will take a couple of weeks, but she will be back to full health."

Tenzo released the breath he had been holding. At least all of his team would be fine. He followed his wounded student to where her teammates were resting. Or they were supposed to. When he entered the room, he saw Hana sleeping on the bed, her mother and brother and their dogs in attendance, but no little blond-haired boys.

"Where is Naruto?" he asked alarmed.

"He ran out of here like his backside was on fire," Tsume replied.

"What?" Tenzo didn't understand.

"He had to hurry or he'd missed the final," the Inuzuka clan head elaborated.

"What?!" The Mokuton wielder couldn't believe his ears. "But he wasn't supposed to…"

"I don't know what he was or wasn't supposed to, but he certainly went there," the dog woman shrugged.

"That hothead," the jounin sensei whined. Then he realized he was on the wrong spot and ran to the arena. What he saw nearly made his heart stop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Arena floor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto's ears were ringing. There were black spots in front of his eyes. His lungs were burning, struggling for the much needed air. His body simply hurt. That was usually the time the Kyuubi would make itself known, taunting him for his weakness, sending his chakra to heal and strengthen him, but the wicked kitsune remained stubbornly silent. He was on his own. He had to move, he was now sitting duck for whoever got him with the Blast Notes.

He hefted himself into a sitting position. It hurt like nobody's business and it nearly made him faint, but his vision cleared a little. He looked around and spotted the red-clad kunoichi wobbling towards him. 'Wasn't she out?' he wondered. He didn't have time to ponder over it. She was getting closer, the kunai in her hands glittering ominously. He had to do something quickly, which was hard considering how much trouble he had moving.

He took a deep breath, desperately struggling to concentrate, to push whatever chakra he had into the air and change it to Wind element. It was so hard, there was no way he could make it in time. Kurotsuchi was just a couple of steps away, looking like an angel of death. He briefly considered forfeiting, but he suspected the Iwa kunoichi wouldn't care about it. He Screamed. His control was slipping. The blast of chakra-laced wind had blown the kunoichi off her feet, but it failed to hurt her seriously. And to make matters worse Naruto tasted blood in his mouth and his lungs felt cut up from inside. The boy could only hope this wasn't what really happened, he hadn't botched this technique that badly in months.

He coughed up blood. 'Where is the no good excuse for a kitsune when I need him?' he thought. 'Does he have a limit on healing one serious injury a day or what?' He struggled to remain conscious. He noticed Kurotsuchi trying to get up, but the gravitation was winning. This was slowly turning into a contest who could take more damage. And where was Gennosuke? He surveyed his surroundings. He noticed the puppet moving again, spreading its wings to unleash another volley of deadly projectiles. 'I cannot stay here,' he realized. He dredged up what little chakra he still had and ran his hands through the seals of the Kawarimi. He didn't need those to perform the jutsu for a long time, but he couldn't risk anything going wrong now.

He made it in time. He reappeared on the other side of the stadium and had perfect view of Kurotsuchi's startled face when she heard the needles approaching. She was facing away from Hisan Uma and she noticed the danger too late. She had only time enough to cover her face before the senbon hit.

Naruto watched the Iwa kunoichi collapse. Despite his previous bad experience, he was sure she was truly out of the game now. It was only him and the puppeteer now. He was wounded, exhausted, out of Exploding Tags and very low on weapons. He still had his trusty ninjato, but he wasn't sure whether he retained the strength to wield it. 'This is a good time to yield,' he thought, but he refrained. Partly because he hoped Gennosuke was even worse off, partly out of sheer stubbornness.

The Konoha genin was right when he reckoned Gennosuke had trouble as well. When the Blast Notes had hit the Hisan Uma, it had caused his wounds to reopen. He could feel the blood trickling down his stomach. He had no idea how much he had lost, but he was already feeling lightheaded. It was all he could do to maintain the chakra strings necessary to operate the puppet.

He commanded Hisan Uma to turn around and run towards the enemy. The shorter legs made its movements slow and awkward, but it couldn't stop him. The Konoha genin looked unable to get to his feet. One volley of kunai was everything that was needed to take him out now, but Gennosuke's vision was swimming and he couldn't trust it to tell him the correct location of his target. He had to get close and launch a wide-area attack. He still had enough senbon for that.

Naruto tried to get up, but ended up having another coughing fit. 'I have really cut up my lungs,' he thought. 'What is the damned Fuzzball doing? Why isn't he healing me? Does he want me to die here or what?' Out of the corner of his eye he noticed movement. The puppet was nearing towards him. The blood dripping from its underside betrayed its master's location. 'At least I know where he is. I might take him out with one hit, if I give it all I have.' A part of his mind told him that was overly optimistic, bordering on idiotic, but he decided to ignore it. He wasn't giving up, period.

When he couldn't breathe, it meant he had to do it without breathing. He lifted a shaky hand to his sword handle and managed to grab it on the second try. He unsheathed the blade and forced his last dregs of chakra into it. 'Concentrate, sharpen it, change it into wind,' he thought. He wasn't sure how successful he was. He stood up, not sure where he got the energy necessary for that action and not caring. He started running, lifting his ninjato for a strike.

Gennosuke saw his opponent charging. He was startled. 'If he still has so much energy, I have to finish him now.' He commanded the launchers to fire. Only half of them went off, and most of the projectiles went wide. 'My control is slipping,' realized the puppeteer with a start. He quickly reconnected the strings controlling the kunai launchers. That made him turn his attention away from the strings commanding the movement of the puppet. Hisan Uma stumbled, making Gennosuke hit his wounded ribcage painfully. He hissed in pain. He regained the lost balance, but by that time Naruto was almost upon him, swinging his sword down. A number of senbon were protruding from his body, but he paid them no mind. The expression on his face made the Suna genin fear for his life. He wanted to fire another batch of kunai at him, but he was a split-second too slow. Naruto's blade hit.

The wood of Hisan Uma was reinforced against damage, but the simple seals Gennosuke could afford could do only so much. Naruto's attempt at sharpening his sword with Wind chakra wasn't completely successful, but it was enough to cut through the outer shell of the puppet. It cleaved into the puppeteer's shoulder before coming to a stop. Oddly enough, there was no pain, only the shock of the blade entering his body made him release the hold on the chakra strings. Hisan Uma collapsed, well, like a puppet with cut strings. Gennosuke noticed the blond boy collapsing as well, before the ground met him forcibly, sending him into the realm of unconsciousness.

Maruishi shunshined into the arena and carefully checked all three combatants. All of them were out of it and neither looked like he would wake anytime soon.

"The final match is over. Neither of the combatants is able to continue. There is no winner."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Spectators' stands~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo barely restrained himself long enough for the proctor to announce the result of the match. He jumped down onto the arena sand even before the medical team could get there. Once again his young charge was lying motionless on the ground. This time he couldn't tell how severe his wounds were, but he reckoned they were nothing to be laughed off.

He knelt beside his downed student. One look at him was enough to tell him what happened. Once again Naruto had overdone it. There were senbon piercing his body, making him look like a pincushion. The blood on his lips hinted at internal injury, whether inflicted by an enemy or gained due to miscast jutsu he was unable to tell.

"Oh, Naruto," he whispered. "What have you done to yourself now?"

"Excuse me, sir." Tenzo lifted his head to se what was speaking. It was one of the medics. "We have to treat him now and take him to the infirmary."

He nodded. The mednins lifted Naruto on a stretcher and carried him out of the arena. Tenzo took one last look around. The geisha-look-alike was kneeling in the sand, helping the medics pry her student out of his puppet. He idly wondered how her expensive kimono would look like after the ordeal. Then he followed the procession.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kage booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Now that was something," the Kazekage remarked. "I don't remember there ever being a three-way knockout in the matches. Even two-way ones are rare."

"That's true," the Hokage nodded. "The fighters had to be strongly motivated to continue even wounded."

"They seemed that way," the Kazekage agreed.

"And they showed good strategy as well," the Tsuchikage added.

"Indeed," the Hokage nodded. "It's how they got that far, after all."

The Kazekage was disappointed. He had hoped so much that one of his would win the tournament. He knew the chances were low when he saw how badly was Gennosuke wounded, but he had hoped nevertheless. Now his champion was lying unconscious in the sand, stuck inside his puppet. That nobody else was declared the winner was only a small consolation.

He shot a glance to where the Wind Country Daimyo was seated. There he was, a once handsome young man now turned overweight due to years of inactivity. The Kazekage imagined that he would be overflowing with fat in a couple of years, a huge glob of grease covered by expensive robes and scented by rare perfumes, feasting on exotic treats, whose price would be enough to run Suna for months. He had trouble restraining himself from gritting his teeth aloud. He detested the man like no-one else in the whole world. It was utterly humiliating that he had to obey such a man. He was certain that every Suna shinobi felt that way. Unfortunately there was nothing he could do about it. He quickly averted his gaze. It would help nothing if the Daimyo suspected him of insubordination.

Oonoki had watched the whole battle with worry. He had half hoped that the blond demon wouldn't show up, it would have meant losing their chance at finishing him off legally, but it also lessened the danger for Kurotsuchi. Despite having faith in his granddaughter's abilities, he realized that the Konoha Jinchuuriki wouldn't be killed that easily. He could see what wound had Akatsuchi given him and how fast it had closed.

One moment he had hoped that his granddaughter would make it, but he was also worried about the blond menace releasing his demon. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed when Kurotsuchi was hit by the puppeteer's senbon. He only hoped that whatever coated them wasn't lethal. But another plan of dealing with the problem formed in his mind. He bid the necessary goodbyes to the other Kage and made his way to where his grandchildren were being treated. He had some orders to give.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~VIP booth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara stood up and walked out without a word, to the relief of Kankuro. Temari watched him worriedly. Her youngest brother didn't utter a single word during the course of the Finals and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. She had been scared when she saw the Konoha jinchuuriki unleash his power. It felt even worse than Shukaku's. She thought he would for sure turn upon them and rip them to shreds, but nothing like that happened. The sinister red power dwindled down and disappeared. He watched as the small boy was carried out of the arena by his sensei. She felt oddly touched. What would have happened if somebody did this for Gaara?

And now, in the next fight, the blond boy didn't use the power at all even if it would have granted him a victory. Why? She had no idea. Instead he was now lying motionless and it seemed incomprehensible that he could have defeated such a powerhouse as Gaara. What did her crazy brother think about it? Would he revert back to his old ways? Would he try to kill the other demon vessel while he was down and defenseless? She didn't know. She probably should have followed him, but she was still too scared of him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Infirmary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara walked through the halls unhindered. Whatever medical personnel was around, they scattered and hid upon seeing him. He had still the reputation of a murdered. There was nobody he could ask directions, but he didn't need to. The voice of Shukaku in his head was everything he needed. It led him towards an inconspicuous door. A single man was standing in front of it. He eyed the redhead warily, but didn't run. Mother demanded his blood, but Gaara ignored her voice.

"I came to see Naruto," the tattooed youth said.

"The doctors don't allow anybody in while they're working," Tenzo answered.

"How is he?" The Suna jinchuuriki's voice was completely flat.

"I'm not sure about the extent of his injuries," the Wood user replied, "but he's exhausted. He wouldn't be waking anytime soon."

"Why didn't he simply crush his opponents? I know he could." That was something the youngest of Kazekage's children couldn't comprehend.

"The Kazekage threatened to disqualify him if he used his tenant's power," the Konoha ninja explained.

"And he obeyed?" Gaara certainly wouldn't have.

"He didn't want to cause trouble," Naruto's sensei answered.

"Hn." The tattooed boy tried to process the information.

"Was there anything else you wanted?" Tenzo didn't want to show it, but he was nervous in the redhead's presence and couldn't wait for him to leave.

"No." He then turned and left, leaving a very relieved Leaf jounin in his wake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Outside the arena~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two figures were making their way through the streets of Sunagakure.

"Those were quite some fights," the taller one commented.

"They were only children," the shorter and wider one disagreed.

"True," his companion nodded, "but couldn't you see their potential?"

"Maybe in one or two of them," the squat man shrugged.

"But the situation as a whole shows a lot of potential as well, doesn't it?" The evil smile was palpable in the taller man's voice.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," the shorter figure chided. "We have a plan, remember."

"That I do," the leaner figure nodded, "but shouldn't plans be changed if the circumstances call for it?"

"It's not our place to change the plans," the wider figure chided.

"You have no imagination," the taller man waved his arm around in a dramatic gesture. "There are so many possibilities in the air today. Surely nobody would fault us for taking them." The other figure just shrugged.

"Your funeral."

* * *

A.N.: So the finals are over and the plot thickens.

Next time: The aftermath of the Exams.


	25. Plots and ploys

**A.N.:** So here comes another chapter. Good news: I got over one of the troublesome spots so the slowing down of releases won't be as drastic as I originally thought. Oh, and thanks to everybody who bothered to send me a review.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I don't understand why I have to repeat it constantly, everybody can tell I'm not Kishimoto.**

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Infirmary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Osamu was walking through the halls of the medical facility like a man who knew where he was going and who was supposed to be there five minutes ago, so please don't bother him with anything. The outfit he had procured from a storage closet was feeling a bit odd, not because Suna and Iwa medical outfits differed too much, but because he couldn't find one in his size at such a short notice. He couldn't risk anyone catching him and asking him uncomfortable questions. It wasn't often a medic received an S-rank mission and he was determined to fulfill it.

He flipped through the notebook he found in his new outfit's pocket, pretending to study the diagnosis of the patient he was about to treat. He suppressed a smirk at the thought of exactly what treatment he was going to give him. He always carried vials of poison along with medicines wherever he went. It wasn't hard to choose which one he would use today. It was one of his better creations, slow, but nearly undetectable and lethal once it entered the bloodstream. Even he didn't have the antidote. And what was better, it made the death seem like a natural heart failure. Only a medic of the highest caliber would be able to recognize the truth.

He reached the door to his destination. He didn't pause to listen whether there was anybody inside. Such behavior would be suspicious in a doctor and he wanted to avoid that at all costs. He opened the door and paused. There was the target lying still on the bed, unmoving, unconscious and utterly defenseless. His teammates were lying on other beds in the room, out of it as well. So far so good.

What wasn't so good was that their sensei was in the room as well, perfectly alert. What was even worse was that what seemed like the whole Konoha entourage was there, including the Hokage. And a Konoha medic was standing above his target, checking his vitals. It wasn't good, but he wasn't one to back off easily.

"Excuse me," he said, drawing everyone's attention to him. "I have to administer medicine to the patient."

"Which one would that be?" the Hokage asked.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Osamu answered.

"I've taken over his care," the Konoha medic interrupted. "I can decide myself what medication he gets."

"But can you decide in time for the next dose?" It was the only thing Osamu could think off. His mind was racing, but it was going in circles.

"Next dose of what?" the Konoha medic raised an eyebrow. "So far I found nothing but painkillers in his system and they are hardly vital."

"Since I worked on him before I think I can tell what he needs," Osamu said forcefully.

"Since I am his physician for several years I can tell it better," the Konoha mednin answered in an equally decisive tone. "And now please leave, I would like to conduct my examination in peace."

Osamu cursed inwardly. This wasn't going well. He wracked his brain for something to change the medic's mind, but the glares the other occupants of the room were giving him made it very hard.

"You should get out," a giant black dog with an eyepatch suggested. "I don't like the way you smell."

The false Suna medic almost jumped at the sight of a talking canine and it wasn't only due to the rows of sharp teeth that were revealed.

"I'll be going then." He backed out of the room and closed the door. This mission failed, but at least they couldn't blame either him or his village for anything. He sighed. He really wasn't looking forward to reporting to the Tsuchikage.

Inside the room the Konoha delegation looked at each other.

"What was that about?" the youngest of them, Kiba, asked puzzled.

"He smelled of deceit and fear," Kuromaru clarified. The only one of the Haimaru triplets currently awake barked in confirmation.

"Somehow I don't think he really was a Suna medic," the Konoha medic said.

"I agree," Sarutobi nodded solemnly, "but there isn't much we can do about it. We are only guests in this village and he didn't actually do anything. But from now on there would be at least two guards in this room all the time."

The elderly Hokage hoped it would be enough. If this really was an assassination attempt, he would bet he knew who was behind it. Hell, even Tsunade would win such a bet. And he had put such high hopes in mending their relationship with Iwa. There still was tomorrow's banquet, but a miracle would have to happen to make Oonoki forget his wounded grandson. And if he was suspecting something, it would be downright impossible. Once again, Sarutobi was reminded that he was getting too old for this crap.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A few rooms away~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I see," Oonoki said frowning. "Your incompetence caused us quite a problem. Now get lost." Osamu bowed deeply and left the room as fast as was polite. The Tsuchikage ignored the look of relief on the medic's face. The man caused him a lot of headache.

Why couldn't that man finish that blond brat? A quick flick of the wrist and a poisoned needle was all it would take. But perhaps he was being too harsh. With old Sarutobi there (and who are you calling old, you fossil, he thought), he would have been caught before the senbon would leave his hand and even if he could hit, that little jinchuuriki had already survived what should have been a fatal wound. Then not only nothing would be gained, but they would start a war with Konoha. And he couldn't afford that now. Not when Akatsuchi was still lying here unconscious, defenseless, hostage to the peace. He couldn't afford to do anything before he got his grandson safely to Iwa.

He sighed and rubbed his temples. This was getting to him too much. If he could just drop the responsibility on someone else, he wasn't getting any younger. But he didn't have anyone he would trust Iwa with. There were strong ninja in Hidden Rock, but with every one of them there was a sound reason why he shouldn't become the Yondaime Tsuchikage. If only his son was still alive… but he wasn't and the Sandaime remembered exactly whose fault it was. He scowled. He was Ryoutenbin no Oonoki and he never backed down from anything. And while he might be old, he was far from useless. He was going to deal with the problem, one way or another. He needed only a plan and he was always good with those. He started plotting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's mindscape~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The world around him was dark, and wet, water dripping from old rusty pipes. He recognized the corridor he stood in. Normally he wouldn't be excited to visit this place, but now he didn't mind. He wanted to have a few choice words with the Kyuubi anyway. He strode down the desolate hallways determinedly, soon reaching the cage housing the demon. He could see the giant kitsune curled on its side, tails wrapped around its body, obviously sleeping.

Naruto scowled. He was wounded and bleeding and that infernal furball was sleeping? Wasn't he worried he might die at all?

"Hey, Fox!" No response. "I'm talking to you, Fuzzball!" The kitsune stirred. A huge red eye opened and locked with Naruto.

"_**So you're back,"**_ the demon growled. _**"Have you come to accept my offer?"**_

"As if!" He shouted defiantly. He was angry and he wanted the demon to know it.

"_**Then there's no reason for you to be here,"**_ the Kyuubi replied, curling back to sleep.

"I'm talking to you," the blond yelled.

"_**Well, I'm not talking to you,"**_ the Nine-tails responded closing his eyes.

"Don't you fall asleep on me!" Naruto screamed. What little patience he had was running low. "Tell me what was today supposed to mean! Why didn't you heal me?"

"_**And why should I?"**_ The creature asked cracking one eye open_**. "You made it perfectly clear that you want nothing of me, so I gave you nothing. How do you like it? It's quite a change feeling so weak, isn't it?"**_

"Bastard," Naruto uttered. "Have you forgotten that if I die you would too?"

"_**No, but you weren't in danger of dying today." **_The creature looked completely unconcerned._** "It was a perfect opportunity to prove my point. So do you accept my offer now or are you still adamant on being stubborn?"**_

"And just why should I do anything you say?" The jinchuuriki scowled. "And besides, the Iwa girl seemed dead-set on killing me."

"_**So you noticed?" **_It looked like the Kyuubi was raising an eyebrow, despite having none. _**"Then perhaps you should consider what does that mean for you."**_

"Like what?" Naruto had the distinct feeling he was missing something, but for the life of him he couldn't put a finger on what it was. He didn't like that one bit.

"_**Cannot you tell? For a moment I almost thought there was a lone brain cell in that tiny head of yours. Obviously, I must have been mistaken."**_ The Kyuubi's voice sounded even more taunting than usual.

"Do you have to be so enigmatic?" Naruto's supply of patience was almost out now. "Why can't you simply say what you mean?"

"_**I do," **_the monster replied._** "It's not my fault that you are unable of processing complicated information."**_

"Smartass." The young blond was fuming now.

"_**Thank you." **_The kitsune actually looked pleased.

Naruto scowled. "You're not helping any."

"_**That I'm not," **_Kyuubi grinned._** "I'm a demon, remember? Since when are demons supposed to help anyone?"**_

"You're an overgrown plushy," the child muttered under his breath. "And what were you talking about earlier?"

"_**What makes you think I'll tell you after you just called me a plushy?" **_A dangerous low growling resounded through the chamber.

"You're insulting me all the time!" Naruto paid no heed to the demon's dangerous mood. He was, after all, the one behind the bars.

"_**I'm not. I'm merely stating the facts,"**_ the Nine-tails replied calmly. He kept his voice even only because he knew it would piss off his jailor more than any temper tantrum.

"I hate you." The child was glaring daggers at him. He decided he liked his powerless rage very much.

"_**I don't care," **_he shrugged in the most bored tone he could muster._** "And now get out. I want to sleep."**_

"You can sleep all the time in here!" Naruto yelled. "Why do you have to sleep now?"

"_**I don't have to," **_he corrected._** "I want to."**_

"Bitch." The kit's pout was really hilarious. He almost started laughing.

"_**I'm not female," **_he pointed out calmly.

"That's not what I meant," the boy replied.

"_**I know." **_He was really enjoying this.

Naruto saw the conversation was going nowhere. "So are you going to heal me or not?" Demanding little brat, wasn't he? But it changed nothing.

"_**Are you going to accept my offer or not? You should know by now that nothing is ever for free, kit."**_

"That's not for free," the blond nuisance stated. "You're getting to live a little longer for it."

"_**In this nice and comfortable dwelling?" **_Kyuubi looked pointedly around his prison. _**"That's not nearly enough for having to deal with such a rude brat as you."**_

"What were you hinting at before?" Naruto changed the topic. "About that Iwa girl. Do you smell trouble ahead?"

"_**Why should I tell you?" **_The fox cocked his head sideways._** "Go and figure it out for yourself. You fancy yourself a smart boy, don't you?"**_

"So you do." Naruto said triumphantly.

"_**I didn't say that."**_

"You didn't have to." The genin smiled. "Bringing it up was enough. And if there really is trouble ahead, don't you think you'd have a better chance of survival if your host is healthy?"

"_**Even though this is correct, I didn't say that there was that much trouble ahead," **_the demon drawled.

"But you think there is." Once Naruto decided on something, it was hard to convince him otherwise.

"_**I think you're trying my patience." **_He growled to punctuate his words.

"Really?" the blond asked sarcastically. "I almost didn't notice."

"_**You really shouldn't be doing this, brat."**_ The Kyuubi leaned closer to the bars_**. "You already got a taste what it means when I'm mildly displeased with you. Do you want to find out what I do when I'm angry with somebody?"**_ Naruto suddenly realized that he really, really didn't want it. Too bad he forgot to talk to Tenzo about the demon's deal. Now he had no idea what the implications of accepting would be.

"You know what?" the Konoha genin sighed in exasperation. "We obviously aren't getting anywhere. So let's just leave the things as they are and let's see who of us is bothered more: I for being weak or you for being stuck in a weak host? Call it a game of chicken, if you want, but this is how I'm going to do it."

"_**How dare you?!"**_ roared the Fox. This didn't go as he wanted. Naruto paid it no heed. He swiftly left the mindscape.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Infirmary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Naruto woke up, everything hurt but he could move without hindrance. 'Does it mean that my wounds weren't serious or did the furball really chicken out?' He didn't know and he definitely didn't want to ask.

He surveyed the room he was in. His whole team was there, the girls sleeping on their beds, Tenzo on a chair, one ANBU standing near the window. He wondered what had happened to them. He had been out during their semifinal battles and he had passed out before he could ask. Speaking of his own match, he couldn't remember its ending, so that meant he had lost. He was a bit disappointed, but not too much. He had never expected to win the Chuunin Exams Tournament anyway. Simply getting into the Final was more than enough. 'I wonder who made chuunin,' he mused. 'I really wish the girls succeeded. And perhaps even me?' He wasn't sure what he felt about it. On one hand it was an accomplishment few ever achieved and something he could brag, if he had someone who would listen to him, on the other hand he knew that being chuunin was a lot harder than being genin and he wasn't sure whether he was ready.

He sat up and hissed in pain. His wounds obviously weren't as healed as he had thought. The sound roused Tenzo. The jounin opened his eyes.

"Awake already?"

"Yes," Naruto answered and grimaced. Speaking hurt.

"That's good, because I want to talk to you." 'Uh-oh,' Naruto thought. Those words said in that tone never bode well. "What was that stunt yesterday supposed to mean?"

"What stunt?" Naruto asked trying to look innocent, even though he knew very well what his sensei was referring to.

"I mean the final match," the jounin clarified. "What did you think, going out there wounded? And why didn't you quit when you were hurt?"

"Uh…" Naruto tried to look as small as possible. He didn't have an answer for that, certainly not one his guardian would accept.

"You didn't think, that's why," Tenzo scolded. Naruto looked guilty. "I thought you had more common sense that this, but obviously I was mistaken. There are a lot of lessons about rushing headfirst into danger needlessly coming in the future."

"I'm sorry," the blond peeped.

"And don't try the puppy dog eyes on me," the Wood user scolded. "They don't work anymore. Should I lock you in a cage again?"

Naruto sighed. He wasn't getting off the hook this time. "I have to talk to you about something as well."

"Oh?" His guardian raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Does he have to be here?" Naruto eyed the ANBU suspiciously.

"I'm afraid so," the jounin answered. "Hokage's orders."

"Why?" The blond was startled. "Does he fear we'll try to run or what?"

Tenzo sighed. He didn't want to burden his charge with such matters, but it was important for Naruto to know, otherwise he'll do something stupid again.

"While you were asleep, a suspicious man came here," he began. "He claimed to be a medic who should administer your medicine, but there was nothing about it in your card. And our own medic was looking you over at the time. There wasn't much we could do about it besides sending him away. We can't investigate it but we suspect he was an assassin."

"But why me?" the blond asked seriously unsettled. In the moment he looked like lost young child.

"Can't you tell?"

Naruto had a few ideas, why some people would try to kill him. "Is it someone from Suna? I thought they were too scared. Or perhaps Iwa? I didn't get the boy that bad, did I?"

"I heard he was in coma and it was doubtful whether he would wake," Tenzo explained.

"Oh." There was nothing to say to it. Than he remembered a small snippet of gossip he heard in the finalists' booth. "Isn't he related to the Tsuchikage?"

"He's his grandson," the Mokuton user explained.

"Oh. Crap." The jinchuuriki thought about the implications.

"Crap indeed," the former ANBU agreed. "So you understand why you shouldn't wander off alone again?"

"Yes," Naruto nodded.

"And would you stay where I tell you to stay like a good boy or do you want to have disobeying Hokage's direct orders on your record?"

"No," the genin answered not spotting the trap.

"What? You wouldn't do what you're told?"

"No! I would!" Naruto protested.

"Now that's it," Tenzo nodded contentedly. "So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Nothing." His eyes once again strayed to the ANBU guard in the corner. He felt uncomfortable talking about the Kyuubi even when they were alone, he didn't think he could do it in front of a stranger.

"Really?" The jounin prodded. "But you said there was something."

"It's not that important," the boy shrugged. "I can tell you later."

"Well then, but don't forget about it."

"I won't," Naruto promised.

"Oh, and one more thing," Tenzo said. Naruto instantly went on alert.

"What is it?"

"Your friend was asking for you."

"Gaara?" The blond perked up. "He was here?"

"Yes," the older man confirmed, "but you were still in the surgery. Where are you going?" Naruto was already out of the bed. Tenzo grabbed him and put him back in. "You aren't going anyway. You can see him this evening on the banquet."

"What banquet?"

"The banquet, where the results would be announced," the former ANBU explained. "So would you be a good boy and rest so you'll strong enough to attend or would you try to run and miss it because you'd be stuck in the hospital?"

"I'll be a good boy," Naruto decided.

"That's good to hear. And now go back to sleep."

Naruto muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "no fun," but didn't argue any further.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Infirmary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Both girls woke up during the afternoon. When they realized they were supposed to attend a banquet with foreign nobility in only a couple of hours and they were still in their hospital gowns, dirty and bloody and their hair matted and knotted, they went frantic. They both tried to get to the nearest bathroom to clean themselves up, much to the chagrin of the nurses. They tried to get their wayward patients back to their beds first by reasoning and when it failed then force, but Hana set her dogs on them. Even if only one of the Haimaru was able to respond to her command, it was enough to drive the nurses away. Then Tenzo appeared and dragged them bodily to they beds, saying that they wouldn't go to the banquet at all if they reopened their wounds. That made the girls calm down, but they still looked distinctively unhappy. Then their things were delivered and they remembered they didn't take anything sufficiently formal. Hotaru wanted to hit the shops at the last minute, but Tenzo told her a resolute no, much to her chagrin. Then the rest of the Inuzuka family showed up and Tsume took command of things.

Then, even though it seemed unbelievable, everybody managed to prepare for the grand occasion. The girls still grumbled that they weren't dressed up nice enough and they didn't have time to make their hairdo's elaborate enough and their make-up still needed some more work, but they admitted they were all presentable now, though barely. It might have been because Tsume threatened to set Kuromaru on them if they didn't stop complaining. Naruto couldn't see what their problem was. In his opinion they both looked beautiful.

They made their way to the Kazekage's manor. It took them a long time, with all three genin being wounded, but their legs were still in working order so they managed. They quickly mingled into the crowd of formally-dressed people inside the richly-decorated room, looking for any acquaintances, exchanging some last-minute taunts with fellow chuunin hopefuls. They tasted the delicious food prepared on the side tables, but their hearts weren't really in it. They were only waiting for the results to be announced.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sunagakure's hospital~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A figure was lying motionless on the bed, various machines beeping as they monitored its life functions. Two guards were standing nearby, listening to the soft sounds the hospital equipment made, trying to fend off the boredom. They didn't think anybody would try to harm their charge, but they didn't want to even think about what their Kage would do to them if they failed their duty.

Suddenly the door opened and the two guards straightened. Finally something to break their monotonous routine. It was only a doctor. He probably just came in to check on the patient and wasn't dangerous, but orders were orders and they wouldn't dare disobey them.

"Halt," one of the guards said. "Show me your identification."

"Do I have to?" the medic grumbled, but started digging through his pockets, encouraged by the fierce scowl on the guard's face. "Where did I put it? I would have sworn it was here. Or was it my other coat? Look, do I really have to go back and search for it? I'm supposed to administer the treatments now."

"Yes." The guards were now suspicious. The man looked like a textbook example of somebody, who was trying to sneak somewhere he wasn't supposed to be. But on the other hand, they never ever saw anybody actually use such poor excuse. So maybe this really was only a doctor who had forgotten his identification?

"Either show us your identification now or leave," the second guard ordered stepping forward.

"Oh, here it is," the medic smiled as his fingers reached something in his inner pocket. The guards stiffened. Wasn't he trying to pull out a weapon? But no, it was only a regular identification card. One of the guards inspected it closely.

"It seems alright," he decided.

"I'm glad you say so," the medic replied with a hint of sarcasm. "Can I treat the patient now?"

"Yes, of course." The guard waved him in. The doctor presented no danger. They relaxed. Big mistake. In the next second they both died.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage's manor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara was making his way towards the place of celebration. The people around were giving him odd and frightened looks, but nobody tried to stop him. The sand whirling around his feet let them know it would be a bad idea. The guards at the door looked like they did want to stop him, but one look sent them scurrying out of his way.

He entered the ballroom. He stopped near the threshold and observed the people mingling around. He had never been to a celebration before so everything was new for him. The sound of multiple voices, the sight of ornate dresses, the smells of rare and expensive food. It also happened that there wasn't anybody from Suna in his vicinity so his appearance didn't cause immediate panic, the foreign dignitaries not knowing who he was. Shukaku demanded their blood for the insolence. Gaara paid him no mind. He was getting used to ignoring his tenant, though it was still hard.

He would have indulged in the novel sensation longer, but then he spotted a familiar figure. He quickly made his way over to him.

"Hello, Gaara," Naruto greeted with a smile.

"Hello, Naruto," the redhead replied with his usual impassive face.

They exchanged a few pleasantries, or at least tried to, because Gaara was still socially awkward. There were loads of things they wanted to discuss, but didn't want anybody to overhear. The looks some people were sending their way didn't help any.

They found a place near the corner of the room. Fewer people were around and they could talk in relative privacy without violating Tenzo's orders of not going anywhere alone.

"There' something I don't understand," the tattooed youth started. "Why didn't you just use your tenant's power to crush your opposition? Your sensei said something about an order, but I don't think that's the real reason."

Naruto paused for a moment. It wasn't that he had to think about the answer, but because he didn't know whether he could afford to say it aloud. His eyes flickered around the room. Anybody around could be a spy. On second thought, everybody around who happened to overhear anything would happily report it to their respective superiors, so it didn't matter which one of them had espionage as their main occupation.

"You're right," he answered. "The main reason is that He is difficult to deal with."

"How difficult?"

"He cooperates only when he gets some benefits out of it," Naruto explained. "He saves my hide, because he's also saving his own, but his only concern is getting out. He's always trying to convince me to do something to weaken the seal and gets pissed when I refuse. He threatens to withdraw his support to show me how much I depend on him. That's why I don't use his power if I don't have to. The supply can be cut anytime and then I'm in trouble." He didn't think it would be wise to admit that it had already happened.

"Hn." Gaara looked thoughtful. "Shukaku never does anything of that sort. He's always eager to help, as long as he gets some bloodshed out of it."

"They have different priorities then," Naruto deduced. "Though Kyuubi loves bloodshed as well, but not as much as he would love getting out."

"Strange thing," the tattooed youth mused, "Shukaku is never concerned with this."

"Strange indeed," the blond agreed.

They spent more time talking, until they called the finalists to gather, so the results could be announced.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The banquet~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The atmosphere in the room was heavy with politics. It couldn't be any other way with so many nobles and dignitaries present. Every single one of them had their own agenda and they were relentless in pursuing it, as long as they followed the proper protocol, of course. Talks were going on, conducted in proper diplomatic language, comprehensible only to those concerned.

In one corner of the room the three Kage were standing. Their discussion was perhaps the most underlined by tension. Not only were the stakes the highest, it wasn't purely about politics anymore.

On one side the Hokage was tying to make peace. He was willing to make quite a lot of concessions if it meant soothing the Tsuchikage's temper. Opposite him was the Tsuchikage, who was quite content to take any offerings the Hokage made to him. He had already devised a plan of getting rid of Konoha's little yellow menace and anything else gained would be a bonus. In the middle was caught the Kazekage, who was trying to make sure the other two didn't try to kill each other and prayed they wouldn't start the Fourth Great Shinobi War within his village. By the way they were unable to come to any conclusion the possibility didn't seem too far off.

Finally his nerves couldn't take it anymore. Even dealing with Gaara wasn't as stressful as this. He interrupted the two bickering, eh… negotiating, Kage and said that the Chuunin Exams results would be announced soon. He prayed the brief reprieve would allow them to calm down, because if not, things might turn very ugly very soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The dais~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally the moment everyone was waiting for arrived. Eleven of the twelve finalists were lined up near the dais, waiting to hear whether they earned their promotions. Who could was standing, but several of them were still injured and had to sit down. Opposite them the three Kage and several Daimyo were standing or sitting.

Everybody was tense with expectation. There were those who knew they had performed poorly, but there was a shard of hope in each of them: what if it was enough after all? There were those who were certain they did well, but a sliver of doubt lingered in their hearts: what if it wasn't enough after all? Then there were those who were neither too bad or too good and honestly had no idea whether they made it or not, but they still hoped. And there was one person who didn't care either way.

Kurotsuchi had lost any interest in promotion the moment her brother was wounded. Since that moment, she cared only about his health and avenging him. She shot a glance to her left. There was that blond brat, standing like he didn't have a care in the world, while poor Akatsuchi was wasting away on a hospital bed. She was so mad she couldn't get him in the final, but that stupid puppeteer had to hit her with his poisoned senbon. Maybe she should exact her revenge on him as well. She restrained herself from gritting her teeth. Only her grandfather's assurance that he had already planned how to deal with the yellow menace allowed her to remain outwardly calm. That and the thought of her brother.

They couldn't really do anything until he was safe in Iwa. But then, then everything would be a different matter. The Tsuchikage told her that he had already planned how to do so. Just make them leave the safety of their village. It would be easy. He had studied the specialization of their team and decided what kind of situation to create that they would be sent to deal with it. And then she would have her chance at revenge. Grandfather had already promised her to be a part of the team that would lay in wait for them. Her musings were cut short when the Kazekage started speaking.

"Greetings to everybody who came here today. In front of you stand the outstanding young shinobi, who were competing for chuunin promotion. The results will be announced now." He made a dramatic pause. The gathered guests were quiet during his speech, so the sound of door opening was heard clearly. Many people turned to see which latecomer was disturbing the occasion.

Kurotsuchi thought her eyes were deceiving her. She blinked, but the image stayed the same. Yes, it was Akatsuchi standing in the doorway. She would never mistake his huge figure for anybody else. He was once again dressed in his usual ninja gear, which was completely improper for such event, but this time she didn't even think of reprimanding him. She was so glad to see him up and about that she almost forgave the one who had hurt him. Almost. He still had to pay for scaring her so.

Akatsuchi started walking towards them. A huge grin spread on Kurotsuchi's face. It was all she could do not to squeal like a little girl and run and hug him. But she was the Tsuchikage's granddaughter and she had to behave in a dignified manner no matter the circumstances.

Akatsuchi walked closer. She noticed he was moving a bit oddly, but she chalked it off as result of his recent injuries. Then her brother was near the dais, but instead of standing near her and Kageromaru, he headed over to the Konoha team. Kurotsuchi's smile froze on her lips. What was he doing? Why didn't he even greet her?

Then Akatsuchi attacked.

* * *

A.N.: The end for now. Do you know the saying about what does it mean when everything seems to be going right?

Next time: A banquet with surprise


	26. A banquet with a surprise

**A.N.:** So here comes another chapter. I never realized how hard was it to write a melee scene until I tried. Also I had trouble to come up with propper scene breaks for this. And I send virtual cookie to everybody who sends a review.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Does anybody still think otherwise?**

* * *

Naruto's eyes widened when he realized what was going to happen. At first he had been relieved to see the big Iwa genin up and about, it meant the Tsuchikage wouldn't be so mad at him. But then Akatsuchi turned to him and he saw his eyes. His breath caught in his throat. They were strange, almost glassy. He was prepared for rage or hatred, but not this emptiness. Then the redhead struck.

Naruto had just enough warning to avoid his fist. He hissed in pain. His wounds hadn't fully healed yet. He mentally cursed the Kyuubi for being so difficult. The fox really couldn't pick a worse time for giving him an ultimatum. But then again, it probably was a good time as far as the kitsune was concerned.

The Iwa genin pressed his attack and this time Naruto couldn't avoid it. He managed to block, but his arm nearly broke from the force of the impact. 'Was he that strong before?' Hana attacked Akatsuchi, but she was still weak from her injuries and he didn't even twitch. Then Kurotsuchi joined the fight and forced her to back off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The dais~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryoutenbin no Oonoki couldn't believe what he was seeing. His grandson was well again? How did it happen? The medics had agreed that his recovery was an extremely unlikely occurrence. And by the way, why wasn't he informed before?

Then he noticed the strange gait in Akatsuchi's step. Was it due to his wounds or was this somebody only pretending to be Akatsuchi? If so, it was an extremely tasteless joke and he was going to explain to that person why he shouldn't have done it in great detail. He quickly checked for Henge or genjutsu. Nothing. Was it really his grandson miraculously healed or was the person simply that good?

Than Akatsuchi (or whoever it was wearing his face) turned towards the blond Konoha brat and he knew things were about to get ugly. In that one moment, he knew what Akatsuchi was going to do. Unfortunately for the midget man, something kept him rooted in place. He opened his mouth to shout an order, but before the first syllable could leave his lips, Akatsuchi acted. He could only watch with dread as a fight broke between the genin.

"Order!" called the Kazekage. Some of the genin looked like they wanted to obey, but Akatsuchi was relentless in his attack. The blond jinchuuriki was sent flying right into the group of Suna genin, hitting the Kineko boy, sending him sprawling on the ground. Akira whined in pain as Naruto hit his wounded ribcage. Kurotsume took the assault on his master personally and bit the blond boy in the leg before he could get up. Naruto used his free leg to kick the panther in the neck. It refused to let go.

Akatsuchi clasped his hands in a seal, with speed greatly exceeding anything he had showed during the Exams. Naruto knew it was time to dodge, but he couldn't. Kurotsume held him tight. A spike rose from the ground, racing towards him. The only thing he could do was brace himself for the impact. It never came.

Tenzo had tackled Akatsuchi, making him release the jutsu. The big Iwa genin tried to punch him, but the former ANBU was faster. He evaded the fist and drew his sword. That was when the Tsuchikage entered the fray, sending Tenzo crashing into a wall which was quite far away. Akatsuchi used the brief reprieve to launch himself at Naruto, who was still struggling to get away from Kurotsume.

Naruto reacted purely on instinct. He drew a deep breath and Screamed. The stream of chakra-sharpened air hit the advancing genin head-on, cutting deep into his skin. It wasn't enough to stop his progress. He slammed into Naruto at full speed. The Konoha jinchuuriki was knocked into the ground painfully. He struggled to regain his breath, but the giant body lying on him was slowly suffocating him. The only positive he could find about this situation was that Kurotsume finally let go.

Then the weight was suddenly gone and he recognized one of the Hokage's ANBU standing above him. He could see the bleeding form of Akatsuchi getting up, readying for another attack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The ballroom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarutobi couldn't believe what was happening. One moment they were peacefully celebrating the end of the Chuunin Exams, the next pandemonium erupted. And the worst thing about it was that nobody seemed to know what exactly was going on. How did Tsuchikage's supposedly comatose grandson suddenly appear? If he wasn't mistaken, even the Tsuchikage himself looked startled by it. And why had he attacked Naruto? But soon it didn't matter anymore. More and more people were joining the fray and in no time members of every village present were involved. The civilians were screaming and trying to run, effectively jamming the door. Nobody knew what was going on, but the Sandaime Hokage knew one thing. His dream of peace just went out of the window.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back of the room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Temari was scared, though she would smash her giant fan on the head of anybody who would suggest such a thing. Despite being a ninja, she had never been in a real fight. She had done one C-rank mission, but that had been guarding a caravan nobody had bothered to attack. Now she found herself in the middle of an all-out battle between shinobi much more experienced then her, including three of the five Kage and two jinchuuriki. Despite her pride in her abilities, she knew she was hopelessly outclassed here.

And to make matters worse, the daughter of their Daimyo was hanging on her arm, blabbering frantically about being terrified and being too young to die and so on. Temari wanted to smack her on the head, but couldn't. She was a shinobi of Suna and it was her duty to protect their Daimyo's family, no matter how much she hated them. She cursed the fact that as the Kazekage's daughter she was obliged to entertain the Daimyo's daughter, because the girl was insufferable in the best of circumstances, always prattling something about the latest court scandals and fashions, things Temari had no knowledge about, and expecting her to comment about it properly. A small part of her was almost glad when the fighting broke out. The bigger one reminded her that she didn't take her war fan to the banquet.

"Calm down," she said. She didn't know whether she was addressing the princess or herself. They both needed to calm down.

The young noblewoman barely reacted. If anything, she clutched Temari's arm tighter.

"Calm down," the young kunoichi repeated in a more forceful tone, accenting it by shaking the terrified girl's shoulder. It seemed to get through. The Daimyo's daughter stopped blabbering and instead stared at Temari with impossibly wide eyes.

"We need to get out of here," she commanded. The princess nodded.

Temari surveyed the room. The center stage was where the heaviest fight was taking place. The two doorways were hopelessly jammed by panicking crowds trying to get out. Making a hole in the wall was outside her ability. The only option left was trying to squeeze through one of the windows. They were small, but so were the girls. She started dragging the Wind princess towards the nearest one. The girl followed her unquestioningly.

They made it halfway there when someone started shooting jutsu. Temari swore. The first Lightning Blast (or whatever it was) headed the opposite direction, but soon somebody returned the fire. Temari could only watch hopelessly as a fireball headed straight for them. Her instincts kicked in and she tried to jump out of the way, but the panicking young noblewoman hanging on her arm prevented her form getting anywhere. And she didn't know any technique that would save her from a Fire attack. She closed her eyes and waited for the heat to envelope her. It didn't happen.

She experimentally opened one eye. What she saw made her pause. There was a wall of sand protecting her from the flames.

"Gaara," she whispered disbelievingly. Sure enough, there was her youngest brother standing with an arm outstretched, commanding the sand to their protection.

"You should leave," he stated. She nodded. That was one thing they agreed on.

"Come," she commanded the princess. The girl didn't respond. She only stared blankly ahead. Shell-shock, Temari deduced from her limited medical knowledge. She sighed. Dragging around a deadweight was the last thing she needed, but it wasn't like she had a choice. Even in her state the young noblewoman held on her tightly. Temari slapped her. It had no effect on the princess, but it made her feel better. She hauled her unresponsive charge to the window. Getting her through would be a pain, but it would be an excellent opportunity to ruffle the snotty princess's exterior a bit without getting reprimanded for it. The noblewoman totally deserved it for the conversation Temari had to endure. Now she only had to make it before Gaara decided to stop protecting her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ near the dais~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oonoki had been at first confused, but that didn't last long. One couldn't lead a Shinobi village through several wars without being able to adapt to any situation quickly. So he quickly abandoned wondering whether the bleeding form on the ground was really his grandson or not. The melee fight that broke around was an excellent opportunity. He could end the threat to Iwa and his family here and now. He sneaked between his guards, his hands already forming seals.

The blond brat was just getting up, but his leg was bleeding badly. Good. He wouldn't be able to dodge, if a genin dodging an attack from a Kage wasn't a ridiculous idea to begin with. 'Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu.' A small cube formed in his mouth, quickly getting bigger and heavier. He watched the brat's eyes widen in fear as he tried to get out of the way. There was no way he could make it.

Then instincts finely honed from decades on various battlefields warned him and he jumped aside, narrowly avoiding an arm crackling with lightning. A millisecond later and it would have pierced his lungs. He tried to hit the attacker with the half-formed dust cube, but he moved out of range too fast. His attack crushed into the ground harmlessly. He cursed. The blond menace used the time to get lost in the crowd. He couldn't see him anywhere. It was times like these he hated his small stature.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the ballroom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was breathing heavily. The Tsuchikage himself had just tried to kill him. If it wasn't for one of the Hokage's ANBU's quick action, he would have been a smear on the floor. It was up time to get out of here. But he couldn't go until he knew his teammates were safe. He could se Hana still fighting off Kurotsuchi. Tsume had come to her assistance and together they forced the Iwa kunoichi to retreat. Kiba was standing beside them, trying to look less scared than he felt. The Inuzuka trio was making their way out.

But where was Hotaru? He couldn't see her anywhere. He carefully made his way to where he saw her last. And sure there she was, lying on the ground, trying to crawl away. Blood was seeping through her bandages. The wounds from her fight with Kurotsuchi must have reopened.

"Hotaru," he called her. She turned her head to him.

"Naruto," she whispered. He quickly ran to her.

"I'll get you out," he promised, trying to lift her. It wasn't easy, the girl was much bigger than him. But he managed to get her on his shoulders, even though her feet dragged on the floor. "Let's go," he said, trying to get them out of the mess.

"Look out!" Hotaru shouted. Naruto dropped down just in time for the kunai to narrowly miss them. They rolled on the floor, quickly untangling themselves.

"Here he is!" Kurotsuchi shouted descending upon them. Naruto reached for his ninjato and only when his fingers grabbed thin air he realized he didn't take it to the celebration. Crap, that wasn't good. But he still wasn't defenseless. He reached into his pockets and withdrew two kunai. He wasted no time charging them with Wind chakra. He stood on guard, ignoring the pain in his wounded leg, waiting for the Iwa kunoichi to attack.

"Kageromaru! Come here! I found him!" The Iwa genin was trying to sneak away before things got even messier, but his teammate's shout stopped him. He cursed inwardly. He wasn't interested in the petty vendetta of the Tsuchikage's family and wanted nothing to do with it. But on the other hand, if he killed the Konoha child, it might bring prestige back to his clan and prestige was something the Kamizuru sorely needed. He released his hive and made his way over to his teammate.

Naruto stiffened when he heard the sound of approaching bees. He had seen enough during the Finals to know what the danger was. He couldn't afford to pull any punches here. He jumped towards Kurotsuchi, Wind blades extending from his kunai. She recognized the danger and jumped back.

The bees sounded closer, too close for his comfort. They were coming from somewhere on his right. He turned that way and saw the black dots nearing them rapidly. He dropped his kunai and ran his hands through the seals for 'Fuuton: Breakthrough.' The insects were blown away. He had no time to celebrate. Kurotsuchi had jumped at him, kunai ready to strike. He tried to evade, but a sharp pain ran through his injured calf. He stumbled. He barely had time to raise his arms to block the attack before the furious girl slammed into him.

They both fell to the ground. Kurotsuchi tried to stab him again, but he managed to block her. He channeled Wind chakra to his hands. He tried to form blades, but he found it too difficult to concentrate and couldn't make them long. He hit the girl, but couldn't inflict anything worse than skin-deep wounds. 'I really have to come up with something better,' he decided. 'But I have to get out of this alive first.'

Before he could do anything, there was a flash of lightning and Kurotsuchi screamed and fell off him. He turned his head to see what happened. Hotaru was sitting there, her arms still outstretched after releasing the technique.

"Thanks," he called to her. There wasn't time for anything else. Kageromaru and his bees were approaching.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~near the dais~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kakashi was cursing himself. Whatever had possessed him to attack the Tsuchikage? The silver-haired man knew he was good, and it meant something even if he said so himself, but he still couldn't quite measure up to a Kage. Not by a long shot. And Ryoutenbin no Oonoki was somebody even his sensei had respect for, despite never meeting him in battle. So here he was now, his Sharingan eye uncovered and spinning, frantically trying to avoid the attack from the midget man.

Oonoki himself was furious. He had recognized the masked Konoha ANBU by his signature technique. He knew he was facing Hatake Kakashi, last surviving student of the thrice-accursed Yellow Flash. And if he couldn't get the little yellow brat today, the silver-haired jounin would serve as a good replacement. The young prodigy might be good, but he was still no match for him. He could already see how the man's dodges were becoming more and more last moment. It wouldn't take long and one of his attacks would hit him.

A hint of hot air on his back was the only warning he had before a Fire Dragon slammed into the ground where he was standing just a millisecond before. He turned to find his new attacker in the crowd. It looked like old Sarutobi finally decided to join the fun. This wasn't good. But they still had an ace in the hole.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Banquet battle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Kazekage felt like tearing his hair out. He had suspected that the dream-come-true the Chuunin Exams in Suna were could turn into a nightmare, but even in his wildest dreams he wouldn't have imagined it would be this bad. He had no idea how the comatose Iwa genin had miraculously healed or what possessed him to attack the damned Konoha jinchuuriki in public, but he had no doubts about the repercussions of such action. There was only one possibility: war.

Even now there was fighting everywhere, the ninja hauling kunai and jutsu at each other, the civilians screaming and trying to run from the room, the floor littered with bodies of people hit with stray techniques. Judging by their ornate garments, there were quite a few noblemen among the casualties. Their families and friends would demand vengeance and some of them would have quite interesting ideas about who was responsible for the massacre occurring. There was nothing that could be done about it now. And with Suna in the state it currently was thanks to their fool of a Daimyo, their chances weren't good.

Speaking of their ruler, the fat man was currently being carried to the door by two of his guards, the men struggling under their violently shaking burden. The other bodyguards were standing around, prepared to block anything that would head their way.

There was a slight distortion in the air. The Kazekage recognized it as a Wind jutsu, though he wasn't able to tell which. The Daimyo's guards weren't that good. One of them shouted a warning when the attack was almost upon him and tried to put up some shield, but he was too slow. The blades of the technique cut him in half. The jutsu continued in its path and hit one of the men carrying the Daimyo. The guard cried in pain and dropped his charge. The fat nobleman fell on the ground and started rolling away from his entourage. Some of his bodyguards were so focused on outside threats that it took them a couple of second before they noticed it. By that time the rotund man had rolled a good distance away.

There was another almost imperceptible wave in the air, for those well-versed in ninja arts identifiable as a Wind blade. It was heading straight for the downed Daimyo. The guards running for him would be too slow to save him.

The Kazekage stood in perfect position to stop it, but he was a Suna ninja and Suna ninja work only for those who pay them. The Daimyo wasn't paying them, his budget cuts nearly ruining the Hidden Sand Village. He watched motionlessly as the blade cut into the nobleman's fat chest. It went deep. Wind blades always did.

The guards finally reached their master and noticed his injury. One of them cried in alarm, another frantically tried to stop the bleeding. They wouldn't make it; the Kazekage could tell from his vast experience that the wound was fatal. 'That's what you get for budget cuts,' he thought darkly. Maybe something good would come out of this debacle after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~elsewhere in the room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yuugao knew she was supposed to protect the Hokage, but the Third looked like he had no trouble watching his own back. Her cousin was a different matter. Hotaru was sitting on the ground, blood slowly forming a puddle around her, shoulders sagging with exhaustion and the Iwa genin approaching her with malignant intent. Making a decision took her only a moment. She left her leader it the care of his other guards and rushed to assist Hotaru. She knew she would probably get into trouble for it later, but she didn't care.

It took her less than a second to cross the distance between them. Her hands flew through a series of seals while she was running. She breathed a small fireball and the insects were incinerated. Hotaru looked up in surprise. Yuugao smiled encouragingly, but it was lost behind her mask.

"Come, I'll get you out," she shouted.

"What about Naruto?" Hotaru pointed towards her teammate. Naruto had finally gotten to his feet, but so did Kurotsuchi. And what was worse, her brother now stood beside her.

Akatsuchi was badly cut and dripping blood, but he didn't seem bothered by it a bit. His gray eyes were set on his target. Naruto gulped worriedly under their gaze.

"Brother," Kurotsuchi exclaimed. She couldn't tell herself whether she felt more relieved or worried. Her brother was back on his feet, but there was something distinctively wrong with him. She just couldn't name it. She didn't have time to ponder about it. Akatsuchi sprang to action and so did she.

Naruto saw both the Rock siblings performing handseals. He couldn't detect any effect, but his instincts made him jump from his spot anyway. Still nothing seemed to happen (well, not counting the fighting going on around). 'Did their technique fail or am I trapped in a genjutsu?'

"Kai," he said bringing his hands together. Sure enough, a fissure appeared in the floor exactly where he had been standing a moment before. And Akatsuchi wasn't where he used to be as well. Naruto barely avoided his earth-shattering punch. He jumped right into the path of Kurotsuchi's kick. He was flung backwards.

An ANBU with long purple hair reminiscent of Hotaru appeared and buried her ninjato in Akatsuchi. The Iwa genin barely grunted and tried to shatter her skull. The ANBU woman jumped back at the last possible moment, saving her neck but losing her sword. It was official now. There was something seriously wrong with Akatsuchi.

He wasn't the only one who noticed it. Kurotsuchi saw it as well and gaped at her brother (or whatever it was) openmouthed. The moment of hesitation almost cost her dearly. Naruto shook off the shock first and leapt at her with a kunai, but she noticed him in time to escape with only a scratch. Then Akatsuchi attacked him again. Naruto wasn't able to fully avoid it, but he managed to latch himself on the big genin's arm. He kicked the big boy in the thigh. Akatsuchi didn't even grunt, which was strange, because he had channeled Wind chakra to his toes. Naruto didn't think about it and grabbed the handle of Yuugao's katana. Akatsuchi punched him, but Naruto didn't let go. He flew back, but he now had a sword.

Yuugao saw that the Iwa ninja had now his flank open. She used the opportunity to send a small, but hot fireball at him. She hit him point blank. Akatsuchi's clothes and hair caught on fire, but that was about it.

"Akatsuchi!" Kurotsuchi shouted in alarm. She had no idea what was going on here, but she was liking it less and less.

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the burning genin approaching him. But he didn't back off. He was finally armed and he felt confident. It was almost instinct to charge the blade with Wind chakra now. He waited for the right moment and sprang forth. He slid under Akatsuchi's fist and struck at his chest. The legs continued to run ahead, but the torso fell off. The arms were still trying to grab at Naruto.

Kurotsuchi screamed. The thing on the ground was split in half, yet both parts were still moving, relentlessly trying to attack the target, despite one of them being still on fire. She was certain now. Whatever it was, it wasn't her brother. She turned on her heels and ran.

Yuugao had encountered loads of strange things during her ANBU carrier, but nothing compared to this. A mortally wounded body was moving like it didn't even feel its injuries. It scared her. And what was worse, she didn't even have her sword and she felt naked and vulnerable without it.

"What's that?" The whispered question turned her attention to the ground. Her cousin was sitting there, wounds still bleeding freely.

"I don't know, but let's not stay around to find out," she decided. Hotaru nodded. Yuugao picked her up and headed for the exit. Naruto ran after them. They made barely five steps before the air was filled with sinister oppressive chakra.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the banquet~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roushi had been watching the battle with mild interest. As a shinobi of Iwa, he was supposed to protect the Tsuchikage, but he didn't feel like it. Oonoki was fully capable of defending himself and if he wasn't, well, he never liked the old bugger anyway. If something happened to the esteemed midget, he could claim that he had orders to do nothing until his Kage expressly told him otherwise. And it didn't occur yet. So he stood in the background, occasionally dodging a stray projectile and waited for something to happen. He got his hopes up when the Hokage joined the fray, but old Oonoki dodged. No luck there.

And then the Tsuchikage gave him that signal. Not just any signal, but That one. Roushi cursed inwardly. Why did it have to be now? He had hoped he wouldn't have to do this ever again. Old Oonoki knew how much he hated it and yet he forced him into it again and again, thankfully not so often after the war had ended. But considering the mess going on around, things were likely to change soon. He swore again. He had already fought one war for Iwa and he didn't want to get caught in another, but there was nothing he could do about it. The thought of running had crossed his mind more than once, but he always discarded it. Life in Iwa wasn't that bad in peacetime and he felt he was too old for the life on the run. But now things were about to change. Shouldn't he reconsider? Maybe, but he should do it once he had the time to think it over carefully. This wasn't a good time to go nukenin. He was still a shinobi of Iwa and he had an order to follow.

With practiced ease, he entered his mindscape and reached where the Yonbi dwelt. The giant ape sat in the middle of a humongous cavern, chained to a massive ring in the floor by a long chain.

"_**So you come again, human,"**_ it drawled. _**"What do you want now? And why do I even ask? It's not like I couldn't tell even if I didn't know what you were thinking. It's always the same all the time."**_

"Since you know what I came here for, would you grant my request?" Roushi went straight to the point.

"_**And why should I?" **_The giant Satori shrugged. _**"And don't tell me because the Tsuchikage of yours told you so. That's not a reason enough for me."**_

"Then what about…" the old man began.

"_**Measuring my strength against others?" **_The demon finished for him. _**"Not good enough. In case you missed it, which I know you didn't, it's the Kyuubi no Kitsune out there."**_

"So would you help or not?" Roushi was struggling to keep his voice calm. He did it despite knowing it didn't matter when dealing with the Yonbi.

"_**And why should I?" **_The giant ape shrugged._** "You don't want to do it anyway."**_

Roushi sighed. It was just too hard to keep even his thoughts in check.

"_**It's hard to keep your thoughts in check, isn't it?" **_Roushi would swear the Yonbi was doing it purposefully to piss him off. _**"Do you have any idea what bother is listening to them?"**_

The old Iwa nin forcibly calmed his mind. He could once do it in the blink of an eye, but lately he got out of practice. Fortunately he could still do it.

"_**No need to get so nasty," **_the monster monkey growled. He couldn't stand when the cavern around him got quiet. It could nearly drive him insane if it went on for too long. _**"I'll help you, but be quick about it."**_

"Thank you." Roushi smiled. He opened his eyes. He was back in the main hall of the Kazekage manor. Less than a second had passed there. It was good he could come to an understanding with his tenant so quickly. In the end, it was only a matter of knowing what the demon hated the most.

But now came the hard part. With the Satori's power flowing through his veins, he was assaulted by the thoughts of the people around him. He was nearly overwhelmed with the sense of panic and bloodlust coming from civilians and ninja respectively. He pushed it to the back of his mind. He concentrated on his mission: eliminating the target.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~with Naruto's group~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto paused in his tracks. Another demon here? He knew the feeling didn't come from Gaara. But who? He didn't have to search for long. He spotted a tall man with a red ponytail, strange face plate and Iwa hitai-ate beelining for him. Sinister reddish chakra was outlining his silhouette. 'Of all the times for the Kyuubi to go on strike…'

Before he could finish the thought, he felt heat seeping from underneath. He jumped sideways before the ground under his feet could completely melt into lava. He barely landed when the Iwa jinchuuriki spat a stream of the super-heated earth from his mouth. He managed to dodge it by a hair's breadth. The injured leg was acting up again. He wasn't used to being wounded. He was missing Kyuubi's healing sorely.

He considered giving in into the Kitsune's demands. But was it wise? Everything inside him was crying against pleading to the demon for anything so soon after challenging him to the game of chicken. If only Tenzo was there, but he couldn't see the jounin anywhere. He wished he had talked with his guardian about the Fox. Why was he even so bothered about the presence of the ANBU anyway? If he just had some advice about dealing with the Nine-tails…

Another blast of lava cut his musings short. Once again he barely managed to evade. He tried to counterattack with a Slicing Scream, but it didn't cut through the protective cloak of demonic chakra. And the red-haired ninja attacked again, melting the ground under his feet. This time his soles were signed before he got away.

He heard a scream behind him. He shot a glance over his shoulder. The ANBU woman carrying Hotaru stumbled. He didn't see what had hit her, but it sent her to her knees gasping in pain. Hotaru rolled out of her arms, ending dangerously close to the molten ground. Naruto couldn't wait any longer. His teammate was in peril. He had to save her no matter what.

* * *

A.N.: So that's it for today.

I took some liberty while describing the Yonbi. I based him on the Japanese mythological creature Satori, which looks like an ape or monkey, lives in mountains and bothers travellers by coming up to them, reading their thoughts and saying them aloud. The best way to get rid of a Satori is to clear your mind. It would either get bored and leave, start howling in pain or even die. (at least that's what I found on the net.)

Next time: Some more fighting. And a long overdue talk with the Kyuubi.


	27. A menu of mayhem

**A.N.:** Another chapter is here. More fighting here. Enjoy it while it lasts. You'll have to wait for your next dose, I'm updating Through the Eyes of Death next. There are also some actionless chapters ahead. And for those who didn't notice it yet, there's a doodle of Kyuubi on strike on my DA profile. (For those who don't know it, there's a link on my profile). That's all I wanted to say. And thanks to all my reviewers.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar andspelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. There was a funny comment here, but the **(insert expletive of choice) deleted my changes and I'm in no mood do write it again.**

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Banquet battle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The feeling of demonic chakra in the air made Tenzo stop in his tracks. It nearly got him killed. The Iwa jounin he was fighting tried to whack off his head. The Wood user blocked at the last moment and counterattacked. He tried to disengage, but his opponent didn't let him. He cursed. He had no time for this. He had to look for the source of the aura. He could tell it was neither Naruto nor Gaara. But who else? Somebody powerful, that was beyond doubt. His limited abilities wouldn't be enough to deal with it. That is if he lived long enough to use them. He sighed and concentrated on dodging and parrying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's mindscape~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Kyuubi was sitting in his cage. Even imprisoned, he could smell the youki in the air clearly. It wasn't only the weakling of a Tanuki, but the Four-tailed Ape as well. While both of them put together were no match for him under normal circumstances, his current predicament was far from favorable. He was stuck inside a puny little brat, his power bound with seals he couldn't break, at least for now, and the miserable little whelp refused to cooperate with him. Oh, why did his host have to be so difficult? If he just allowed a small part of his chakra through the seal, they could wipe the overgrown Satori from the face of the Earth. But no, the kid had to close off the flow altogether. _**'Oh wait,'**_ the demon realized, _**'it was me who stopped it. Oh, why did the little annoyance have to call me bluff?'**_

The truth was that the Kitsune was scared. Every time since his sealing there was at least a small trickle of his power flowing through his vessel. It wasn't much, but he could manipulate things a bit, if they got out of hand. Sure, he couldn't do more than lend his chakra to the stupid hairless monkey and whisper his suggestions, but even that was better than nothing. He still hated his predicament and everybody who got him into it, but he could deal, though barely.

Now even that was taken from him, and due to a stupid game of chicken, of all things. _**"Damn it, I'm no chicken," **_he roared, but there was nobody who could hear him. Which was good, since they couldn't doubt his mental health this way. He refused to lose the game. The great and mighty Kyuubi lost to no one. Well, that wasn't entirely true, but he refused to let it get to him. It was only a temporary setback, he would get out of here in no time, or he told himself so.

He felt a stream of demonic-power enhanced lava flowing dangerously close to his prison. He had to grudgingly admit that the Yonbi was no pushover, even if he couldn't compare to him. He would have already supplied his power to the brat, if it didn't mean being called chicken. _**'Aaargh, why do I even care about such childish games anyway?'**_

He could feel Naruto's resolve falter. What had brought it on? '_**Ah, there, a teammate in danger.'**_ The Kyuubi smiled. The boy was just too caring. He wouldn't be able to resist and would come to him, begging for his power, anytime now. He had to wait just a little longer, but drat it, every second felt like a century. And the Kitsune remembered some centuries that felt particularly long. It was grating on his nerves. What if they got hit head on before the idiot could make up his mind? It nearly sent him into a panicky fit. _**'Just a moment, just a moment, patience, you can do it,…' **_He repeated an endless mantra in his head, but it did little to help, patience never being his strong suit. _**'I have to wait just a moment longer,'**_ he reminded himself.

Then suddenly waiting wasn't an option anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage's manor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara felt the youki in the air.

"_**Kill," **_Shukaku whispered in his mind. The redhead shot a glance over his shoulder. His sister was safely out of the room now. He had no more obligations here. He could do whatever he wanted. But what did he want?

"_**Kill them all." **_There was no doubt what the One-Tail wanted. It was nothing new for Gaara. But was it what he wanted to do? Not so long ago, he would have answered yes without thinking. Then he had met Naruto and lost their fight. He realized there was more to life then mindless slaughter. He hadn't killed anybody since. But now there was fighting going on everywhere. He knew they were the injured party here and that they had full right to kill the attackers. But what would that do to him? Would the bloodlust get to him? Would he reverse back to how he used to be? He didn't want it. Not now, when his life seemed to take a turn for the better. Sand swirled impatiently around his feet, eagerly waiting for his command. The demonic energy spiked higher.

"_**Kill them already! I want blood! I'm hungry!"**_ Shukaku was getting louder and louder. His voice mingled with the screams of people. Gaara couldn't hold it back anymore.

"Yes," he whispered. Sand surged forward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~with Naruto~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto had never tried to access the Kyuubi's prison on purpose before, so he wasn't sure how to go about it. How does one enter his mindscape anyway? He supposed meditation was a way, but he didn't think he would have enough time to sit down and clear his mind. He barely had the time to get out of the path of another lava attack. Yep, meditation was definitely out.

What else was in? Try as he might, his mind came up with a blank. 'Not good. I wish I could just think about it and appear there, but it isn't that easy. Wait, how do I know it won't work? It's not like I have a better plan, do I? Let's give it a try.'

He started thinking about the cave, the huge metal bars and the beast contained behind them. He tried hard to visualize them, so hard that he forgot about the real word around him. The moment of inattention cost him dearly. There was a hot, searing pain in his body. It was so strong he wasn't able to tell where he was hit. The pain overwhelmed everything. The world went out of focus and dissolved into darkness. An all too familiar kind of darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's mindscape~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'_**I waited too long,'**_ the Kyuubi realized. Now his host was severely wounded and if he withheld his power much longer, they would both die. His knowledge of the human anatomy was good enough to tell. He stood up to push his chakra through the bars. Then he paused. He had a visitor. Maybe he could wait before helping, though only for a couple of seconds. But it might be long enough to get something out of it. He settled down and pretended to be asleep.

The moment he appeared in the dark sewer Naruto began doubting the wisdom of his decision. Once he could see the red tint and feel the putrid taint of the Kyuubi's chakra, he was struck with fear. Did he really want to touch something so dangerous? There was that thing with being wounded, probably fatally, but he still wasn't convinced. Then the image of Hotaru lying helpless on the ground flashed to his mind. There was no way he would leave his teammate to her fate, not when he had the power to help her. He only had to ask for it. He strode forward in a determined gait.

The walk to the cage seemed endless to him, though he realized it was actually quite short. He paused when the gigantic bars came into view. The fox was there, curled onto himself, his snout covered by one of his tails, apparently sleeping. Once again, the boy was struck with doubt. Was it really right to give into the beast's demands? It was true that he sorely needed the power and that he needed it now, but wouldn't using it let the monster loose? Wouldn't it make the gigantic bars of the cage break? Or was he perhaps too pessimistic? He should have faith in the Yondaime's work. Yet it was so easy to imagine the metal poles snapping, the fox pouncing forward… He shook his head forcefully. He had no time for idle musings. Hotaru was in danger, he was gravely wounded, he had to act now.

"Hey, you!" he shouted. The kitsune gave no outward reaction, but somehow it seemed to be listening. Was it actually awake and playing difficult? He didn't know, but he wouldn't put it past the demon. "Wake up, Fuzzball! I'm talking to you." There was no way the Nine-tails could let the insult slide. And he didn't.

"_**Who are you calling Fuzzball, you miserable hairless monkey?" **_The Kyuubi roared springing to his feet. He presented a really magnificent sight, teeth barred, fur standing on its ends, tails swinging wildly. The only thing disrupting the effect was the cage. Naruto stood his ground.

"So you are awake," he gloated.

"_**So I am." **_The demon deflated a bit. _**"Did you come to accept my offer?"**_

Now, there was it. The point of decision. He could either accept or decline, but whatever he chose, there would be no coming back. He was reminded of the graveness of his situation. He felt intimidated. What should he do now? It seemed like the question had no correct answer.

He took a deep breath, trying to cam himself. He came here for a reason. He had already decided. Then why was he hesitating now? Maybe because dealing with the devil was so much harder when he could see him in all his might?

"_**So what is it?" **_the beast asked with a hint of irritation in his voice. Naruto didn't fail to notice it.

"Why so impatient?" he asked.

"_**I don't have all day for you."**_

"Really?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What is here to do besides sleeping?"

"_**None of your business."**_

Naruto went on guard. The Kyuubi was behaving strangely. But what could be the reason? He took a look around. The cave looked just like it always did, dark, huge and ominous. The corridors leading out were the same as always as well. So what could it be? And then he noticed it.

"Why is there so little water?" The surface was barely a half of its usual height.

"_**What does it matter?"**_

"I think it does matter." He was convinced he hit the nail on the head.

"_**I don't care what you think," **_his tenant growled irritated._** "So do you accept or not?"**_

Naruto allowed himself a small smile. If he wasn't mistaken, the Kyuubi desperately wanted to help, but didn't want to admit defeat. Though, when he thought about the possible reason, his optimism disappeared. But he refused to let it show.

"So this is it," he laughed.

"_**What?"**_

"Our game of chicken," he explained. "This is where it ends. I'm mortally wounded, am I not? So do you want to die with me?"

"_**Watch it, you impudent whelp," **_the demon roared. _**"Do you want to let your teammate die?"**_

Oh. He had completely forgotten about that. Hotaru was in danger and the stupid fox was playing his stupid mind games. His anger rose.

"Now listen, you flea-infested scurvy pelt! You give me your power now or I take it!"

"_**Try it, you mortal scum," **_the greatest of Bijuu snarled.

"I will," Naruto promised. He strode towards the cage. The Kyuubi tensed. If the stupid child reached into his cage, he would have an once-in-a-lifetime chance to get out of here. He prepared to pounce.

Naruto reached the cage and touched one of the bars. It was cold. So cold he had to retract his hand immediately or risk frostbite. He didn't pause. He reached between the bars and grabbed a handful of the red substance flowing behind them. Kyuubi jumped. There was no way the kid could remove his hand from his cage in time.

He had no idea what happened next. It seemed like the bars themselves moved. All he knew for sure was that one of them struck his muzzle painfully. His teeth missed the human's wrist, only glancing his hand instead. Naruto jumped back, holding a portion of his chakra in his hand. He ignored the blood flowing from the shallow gash, mixing with the red cloud enveloping his fist, and held his arm out triumphantly.

"I've got it!" The demon roared in rage. The bit of chakra Naruto managed to snatch was connected to the rest with a thin thread. Naruto pulled on it, dragging more of his power to him. The Kyuubi pulled back, trying to prevent him. But then he noticed the water outside the cage being even lower than before. There was no more time.

"_**So have my power, whelp, but only for today!" **_The red youki flowed freely through the bars.

"Thanks," shouted Naruto before disappearing from the cave. Somehow the Kyuubi thought he might have heard him saying 'chicken,' but that might have been just his imagination. He settled down and brooded. His jailor might have won this battle, but he didn't win the war. Not by far.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The banquet battle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For a moment, Roushi had thought things were going well. Thanks to the powers the Yonbi no Satori granted him, he was able to tell that the Konoha jinchuuriki was trying to draw on his tenant's powers, but wasn't sure how to do it. So he was untrained. Perfect. It made him more confident about facing the vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He knew he would be toast if the child somehow managed to unleash the full power of his demon. He had to prevent it at any cost.

He could see that the blond genin was distracted. All the better for him. If he could hit him now, he could end the battle and the threat to Iwa in one swipe. It would require speed and precision. He formed a spear of lava. Only his demonic chakra prevented him from getting burned as he held it. He took aim and threw.

And for a moment it looked like he'd hit the bullseye, but then the projectile was deflected slightly. The target was still hit, but it wasn't instantly fatal anymore. 'What was that? Where did all the sand come from?' He had no time to ponder over it any longer. Youki spiked high in the room. The Kyuubi's power had been unleashed. It didn't take a genius to figure out that things weren't good anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~elsewhere in the ballroom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana was torn. Somewhere in the room were her teammates, undoubtedly in danger. A part of her wanted to run to them, assist them in any way, but her body was still weak from the poison and two of her dogs were limping badly. She wouldn't be much of a help and she didn't want to be a hindrance.

On the other hand here was her baby brother. Kiba was shaking badly, clutching their mother's leg. He was still a child who had never been in a real fight. And now he found himself in the middle of this. Hana had been in battles before, but even she was scared by the sheer power and intensity of the killing intent permeating through the room. Even the Inuzuka clan head looked disturbed. Then the power in the air spiked even higher.

"We have to get out of here!" Tsume shouted.

"No kidding," Hana replied, "but how? Door's blocked." The crowd of the terrified dignitaries was still trying to push through.

"Then we make one!" The Inuzuka matriarch decided.

"How?"

"Come on, Kuromaru!" The dog barked in affirmation. It was a sign of his high distress. He generally preferred speaking. Tsume gently pried Kiba's arms from her. "Watch him!" She tossed the protesting child to Hana. The young kunoichi held him tight. Her little brother was shaking so hard she almost dropped him.

"Inuzuka style: Soutou Rou!" Chakra enveloped both Tsume and Kuromaru and when it dissipated, a giant two-headed wolf stood there. Even though Hana had seen Tsume's Soutou Rou before, she once again marveled at how big it was. She couldn't come close to performing the technique so well, but Tsume was the Clan Head for a reason. Kiba, who had never seen it before, was staring speechless. At least he stopped shaking.

"Garouga!" The double-headed wolf growled and sprung forward, spinning at blinding speed. Hana wondered how long she would have to train before attaining such mastery. Then the furry tornado slammed into the wall. The Kazekage's manor was build to withstand battles, but its architect counted on the attacks coming from the outside. Tsume's attack cut deep and cracked the wall, but it wasn't enough to break through. Tsume lay in the rubble, separated form Kuromaru. She slowly pushed herself up.

"Not enough?" She scowled. "Let's do it again."

"Allow me to help," a sweet female voice sounded close. The Inuzuka family turned around. There stood a woman in a geisha's ornate kimono, accompanied by three familiar genin. Hana immediately recognized them as one of the finalist teams. The geisha-look-alike moved her fingers and three puppets made in the shape of beautiful girls moved forward. "My Three Fair Maidens can clear the rubble fast." It was true. The puppets moved fast, guided by the strings of an expert puppeteer, their sharp fingers removing the pieces of concrete faster than the Inuzuka trio could have managed. "Here, all done now," Teono announced.

"Right," Tsume grinned. "Let's hit it again."

"Wait a minute," a new voice interrupted.

"Youkou," Teono greeted. "Fancy seeing you here." Tsume looked at the second Suna finalist team's sensei dubiously. It might have been due to his team, including the Kineko boy and his cat, limping behind him.

"You can't break through the outer wall," the tiger-like jounin warned. "There are seals against damage."

"They're against outside damage," the geisha corrected.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Youkou replied.

"Just let the dogs break their noses," Akira suggested. Tsume growled at him. The rivalry between their clans went far back, their families regularly accusing each other of stealing and copying their jutsu. Snapping at each other was a reflex.

"Is meowing all you can do, scaredy-cat?" The jab was supported by Kurotsume's pitiful whining. The panther was trying to hide behind his master's legs, obviously regretted who he had bitten.

"Cut it out," Mizue chided. "We're in trouble enough." She was right. A blast of lava landed dangerously close to them.

"Mizue's right," Toshiro added. "We have to concentrate on getting out of here." It was nearly a miracle that all the genin were still alive after being in the middle of such a battle, but they all had the common sense to run as soon as it broke out, lingering only to pick up their wounded teammates, and nobody actively pursued them. They were also lucky enough not to run into the path of a stray technique.

"So how do we do it?" Teono asked. Everybody was reluctant to try just how did the supposed seals on the outside wall work.

"I'll do another Garouga, if you are so scared," Tsume offered.

"Wait," Youkou halted her. "I'll blast it off with a Fire Dragon."

"In an enclosed space?" Teono's eyes widened. "Has your blazing spirit burned out your brain?" The other Suna jounin had the good grace to look sheepish.

"Come again, Kuromaru," Tsume commanded when nobody seemed about to do anything. "We're going to blast right through."

"I'm not sure it's a good idea," the dog grumbled but obeyed. Soon the Soutou Rou stood there again.

"Garouga!" The flurry tornado surged forward, aiming right at the damaged spot in the wall. She impacted at full speed. There was a loud crash and a flash of light. A section of the wall went down. Obviously the protection seals weren't as good as was rumored.

"Mom!" Hana yelled. Tsume lay in the rubble, Kuromaru beside her, both of them unmoving. Hana rushed forward, almost dropping Kiba in the process.

"She's alive," Teono said appearing beside the distraught young kunoichi, her three puppets already clearing the way. Hana was eternally grateful for it. "And now hurry," the Suna jounin continued, "we have to get out. The battle is picking up." She was right. The sheer amount of killing intent in the air intensified by the minute. Hana would be shaking in her shoes if she wasn't too distracted by her concern for her family.

"Yes," she nodded. She tried to pick her mother up, but found that she couldn't Kiba was still hanging on her for dear life. "Would someone help me?" She looked around the assembly. Her eyes landed on Team Youkou. All its members were walking on their own two feet and weren't carrying anybody.

"I'll help," Toshiro offered. With his figure he had no trouble gathering the grown woman in his arms.

Mizue started for Kuromaru, but he was too heavy for her. She shot a questioning glance towards her remaining teammate.

"Helping an Inuzuka dog?" Akira shook his head. "My parents would have kittens," he said but helped to move the giant canine anyway. Soon the whole group was safely out.

"Thanks," Hana said with a smile.

"You're welcome," cat-boy replied. "Just don't tell about it to anybody. I wouldn't survive the shame."

"I won't," she promised. She wouldn't survive the shame either.

"Cut it, lovebirds," Teono shouted. "We aren't in the clear yet."

"Lovebirds?!" Hana looked ready to tear the geisha-look-alike with her bare hands. But she had to admit the puppet mistress was right. They were still in danger. She shot a rueful glance to the manor. Her teammates were still inside. She could do nothing for them. She had to take care of her family first. She had to trust them to handle themselves. 'Please, let them be alright,' she prayed. Then she picked her fear-frozen brother and followed the Suna teams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage's manor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto opened his eyes. He felt the intoxicating power flowing through his body again. Until now, he hadn't realized how much he had missed it. But now it was back and everything finally seemed alright. Even the hole in his torso didn't bother him anymore, the enhanced healing taking care of it almost as soon as he picked himself of the ground. Everything around him was clear and sharp. He felt stronger than ever before. The power was flowing through his body, filling his every cell, threatening to overflow. It wanted to be used and he wanted to use it.

He focused his sights on the person in front of him. Roushi was standing there, his body surrounded by the Yonbi's chakra, his fingers flying through handseals. Naruto had no intention to let him finish them. He sprang forward with speed far exceeding anything he had been capable of before. Roushi saw his charge and finished the last seal with utmost haste. A wall of lava rose from the ground in front of him. Naruto had to jump high to avoid colliding with it. It brought him right into the path of a large chakra hand. He roared in anger and swiped at it with his own chakra claws, but didn't inflict any damage. The giant monkey's fist slammed into him and sent him flying.

Roushi let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. That had been close. Only one tail of the Kyuubi's power was unleashed and he had so much trouble defending against it. He barely noticed the sand swirling around, trying to envelope him. The Yonbi's chakra protected him from the attack.

Naruto nimbly landed on his feet. How dare the stupid monkey punch him? Him? He snarled. He was going to show that fleabag once and for all. He jumped forward, intent on tearing the ape apart. Roushi didn't wait for him. He jumped out of his way and sent forward another splash of lava. Naruto had to try hard to evade it. 'I'm going to kill him for this,' he thought. 'I'm not going to manage if a go about it this way,' a more realistic part of his mind supplied. 'Crap,' he realized, 'I'm being influenced by Kyuubi. I have to calm down.'

That was easier said than done. The malevolent chakra coursing through him was threatening to drown him in the rage. He took a deep breath. 'I have to calm down.'

"_**Try it,"**_ the Kyuubi grinned darkly. Naruto cursed him silently. 'No,' he realized. 'I mustn't listen to him. I must concentrate, think.' The rage was still there, but it seemed to lose its edge. Instead of the blinding, unthinking fury, he was now filled with seething, cold hate. His mind started supplying him with creative ways of disposing of Roushi.

The ground under his feet melted into lava and he managed to jump away at the last moment. 'Think calmly,' he chastised himself. Reaching Roushi directly proved quite difficult. Maybe he should try a distance attack. He ran through the seals for a Fireball. Then he realized there were still civilians in the room.

"_**Don't care about them,"**_ the demon suggested, but even at the peak of his rage, Naruto couldn't. But it was now too late to abort the technique. He had to spit it out or burn himself.

He aimed high, hoping to avoid making unnecessary collateral damage. He grossly underestimated the sheer effectivity of Kyuubi-powered Katon technique. The flames spread along the ceiling, melting parts of it in the process. Naruto cut the jutsu as soon as he could.

"_**What's the matter?" **_the Kitsune taunted. _**"Are you afraid of some little fire?"**_

'Shut up,' he thought back. He didn't hear an answer, but he thought the beast grinned. He began regretting contacting it at all. But he needed its power to defend Hotaru. And speaking of which, where was she?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Elsewhere in the ballroom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yuugao pulled the kunai from her thigh. It hurt a lot, but the blade missed the vein and that was all that was important. She had survived worse. She pushed herself to her feet, suppressing a groan of pain. She limped to where her cousin was crawling away from the molten patch on the floor. She shot a glance over her shoulder. Behind her three jinchuuriki were battling each other, demonic power surging through the air. She knew she was no match for any of them and their best hope of survival was getting out of here as fast as they could. Fortunately nobody seemed interested in deterring them, everybody too intent on escaping what was slowly but surely turning into a disaster zone.

She reached her cousin's side. She helped her to her feet. They were both unsteady, but they could walk. Now if only they had somewhere to go. The crowds blocking the doors didn't seem to diminish at all.

Then there was an explosion and she noticed a part of the wall collapsing. There was their ticket out! They made their way there as fast as they could. It wouldn't do to have even this exit swarmed by panicking people before they could get there.

They got halfway there when the ceiling was lit by a super-heated Fire technique. It was far enough from them, but the heat was nearly unbearable anyway. They were brought to their knees. Droplets of molten glass rained down.

"Gotta get out fast," Hotaru rasped. Yuugao agreed wholeheartedly. They scrambled to their feet again. All around them people were screaming, some of them running around with their clothes on fire. Hotaru felt ready to throw up. Yuugao noticed her discomfort.

"Hold it, girl," she advised. "You can puke all you want once we're out." Hotaru nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak. Instead she looked at the hole in the wall. It seemed both so close and too far. She concentrated on getting there. They both did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Banquet battle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kurotsuchi was on the verge of panic. Ever since she had run screaming from the thing that was pretending to be her brother, she felt lost. She fancied herself a tough kunoichi, but the things occurring in the hall by far exceeded everything she was prepared for. She needed someone to lean on, somebody to tell her what to do. Her first instinct was her grandfather, but she saw him fighting both the Hokage and Kazekage and several other probably high-ranked ninja and she realized she couldn't get to him alive. She noticed Kageromaru running around, but the Kamizuru was just as scared as she was. Then she heard an explosion loud enough to be noticed even in the racket. 'Takeshi-sensei!' She turned to see where did it come from. She found him easily, his reddish-blond ponytail shining like a beacon to her. He was fighting several Suna shinobi at once and was doing well in keeping them at safe distance. She headed over to him.

She had little trouble weaving through the rapidly thinning crowd. Nobody bothered to attack her. They probably didn't consider a mere genin dangerous enough. It occurred to her that she should be insulted, but she felt grateful instead. In her current situation, there was no room for pride.

She got close to the group fighting her sensei. She noticed one kunoichi trying to sneak upon him from behind. Her hands flashed through seals, casting a simple genjutsu on her enemy. Before the woman could break it, Kurotsuchi jumped at her back and sliced her throat with a kunai.

One Suna ninja noticed what happened and attacked her with his short sword. She barely blocked his blade with her kunai. Then there was another explosion and the Suna ninja fell on the ground in a shower of blood.

"Kurotsuchi!" Takeshi-sensei shouted. "What are you doing here? Where are the others?"

"Takeshi-sensei! Akatsuchi…" Her voice caught in her throat. She couldn't speak about what she had witnessed. Takeshi didn't pry. He saw her expression and came to his own conclusion about his student's fate.

"And Kageromaru?" He inquired throwing a ball of explosive clay on another opponent. The man managed to dodge, but the force of the explosion threw him off balance. Takeshi jumped in to finish him, but another Suna ninja intervened, forcing him to retreat.

"Somewhere around," Kurotsuchi answered throwing two shuriken at an approaching shinobi. Then she spotted her teammate. "Hey, Kageromaru, over here," she called. The boy started to make his way over to them. Kurotsuchi absent-mindedly blocked an attack. "What are we going to do?"

'What, indeed.' That was what Takeshi himself wanted to know. "Just stick close," he replied, "we'll get through this."

It was exactly what Kurotsuchi wanted to hear. Yet somehow it did little to ease her worries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the battle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara felt alive. He had thought he had gotten over his bloodlust, but apparently not. Now with the Shukaku's power flowing through his veins and a battle raging around, the thrill was slowly consuming him again. Mother was laughing in glee and sand was dancing wildly around his body. He had fed the first person to cross his path to her. He knew neither who that person was nor where was he from. He realized he didn't care. That was nothing new for him, but lately he was learning to live otherwise. Idly he wondered whether he was turning into what he used to be before. And what would Naruto think of him now.

His eyes strayed to where his friend was. The small blond was enveloped in red chakra, attacking the Iwa jinchuuriki furiously. Gaara remembered what he had told him about his demon. 'Wily and hard to control,' if he remembered it right. Naruto must consider this important to use it. And if it was important to his friend, it was important to him as well. He had to help.

He drew on a small portion of Shukaku's power and called forth more sand.

* * *

That's it for now.

Next time: The conclusion of the battle.


	28. A dessert of disaster

**A.N.:** So here finally comes the next chapter. Read and enjoy. I don't know when chapter 29 would be out, I almost had it but then a plot bunny came and decided I have to rewrite it. On a more positive note, chapter 30 is ready for release whenever 29 is. And virtual cookies to all my faithful reviewers.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If you think I do, my aunt is selling her house in Tanzaku town. It's cheap and in good condition.**

* * *

Kakashi was scared and it had nothing to do with the fact he was currently fighting the Tsuchikage and a couple of his guards and not faring too well. It had more to do with the demonic aura in the air. He was no coward, but ever since the fateful day every bit of demonic chakra scared him out of his mind. Call it a phobia if you want, Kakashi preferred calling it common sense.

This time it wasn't nearly as strong as when the Kyuubi had attacked nine years ago, but somehow it felt even worse. Maybe it was because there were three demons here. The sight was really terrifying. Naruto was enveloped in a red shroud resembling a fox with enormously long ears, one tail swinging behind him. The Iwa ninja stood tall and proud, enshrouded in maroon chakra in the shape of a monkey with two tails flailing around. Close to them was the Suna boy, sand gathering around his body, forming parts of an animal Kakashi couldn't recognize. Sand was flowing into the room through every door and window, obeying the call of its master. It was forming into giant tendrils, ready to strike at command. Kakashi didn't even want to think about what would happen if one of them struck him. He doubted he knew a defense strong enough to stop it.

Once more his memories took him back to his sensei's last battle. Thinking back to it, he couldn't understand where Minato-sensei had found the courage necessary to stand against the Kyuubi in all its might. Just feeling a small portion of its killing intent was enough to make his knees shake. He supposed that the Yondaime was just that awesome. 'But so many people fought that day,' he remembered. 'Where did they find their courage?' He pondered over it for a moment. 'Konoha was attacked,' he realized. 'There was nowhere to run. They were – we were – fighting for our homes and families.' Now Konoha was far away.

'Is it still worth fighting for? Wouldn't it be better to run than be crushed by a power we cannot resist? What is here to fight for?'

Then he realized it was his sensei's son fighting there. Could he simply abandon him? He had a duty here. He remembered his earlier words about the genin being bound to die soon. Did he really believe it or was he afraid to get close to somebody who might be gone before he knew it? Or was he simply too scared of losing anybody that he isolated himself completely? He didn't know. And he didn't know why he was meditating over it now. The last Dust Cube had nearly crushed him. He retorted with a Lightning jutsu. He had to compose himself before he'd get killed here.

And perhaps he should stop running from his past as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~near the dais~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Tsuchikage surveyed the situation. It wasn't favorable for them. Roushi was holding his ground against the two jinchuuriki, but on the other fronts the fight wasn't going so well. The Suna ninja along with the few from Konoha had overcome their initial confusion and were now utilizing their greater numbers. The Iwa guards were losing and dying. He absentmindedly jumped from his spot, the ground he stood on a moment before turning into a mud river, courtesy of the Hokage. He raised a Stone Wall to stop a Wind Bird from the Kazekage. That reminded him that even his own situation wasn't rosy. He was fighting two Kage here and even when they were holding back due to the civilians still present within the room, he was having trouble. It was made even worse by his own hips, which picked that particular time to start hurting. Oonoki cursed them and valiantly ignored the feeling of two kunai embedded in his sides. Even if his pride tried to protest, his decades of battle experience told him it was time to call a tactical retreat.

He took a moment to survey the locations of all his surviving shinobi. There weren't many, but it wasn't hopeless yet. He turned a direction none of his subordinates was standing and created a Dust Cube far bigger than anything he had used in this fight. He winced as he realized how much chakra it cost him. He let it fly. It nearly hit the Kazekage, but the man dodged swiftly. Pity. Oonoki had hoped he would try to block. The cube moved forward, crushing several slow Suna ninja and one injured civilian in the process until it slammed into the wall. There was a brief flash of light and then the wall and adjacent part of the ceiling came crashing down. A cloud of dust shrouded the vision of everybody in the room. Then a strange sound was heard. The younger shinobi present were startled. Some of the older recognized it. It was a signal. Whatever Iwa ninja were still alive moved to act.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the ballroom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kurotsuchi would have never believed that she would be one day overjoyed to hear a signal to retreat. But now she was. She wanted nothing more than to get out of here.

"Formation four," Takeshi-sensei commanded. She exchanged a quick glance with Kageromaru, who had joined them recently, and assumed her position on Takeshi's left flank just as her teammate stood on his right. Sensei threw a few of his explosive clay balls to clear them a path. He was running low on them, but this situation warranted their use. As soon as the blasts cleared them a path, they ran forward. They noticed the still surviving Suna shinobi doing the same. Soon they were all gathered near the hole the Tsuchikage had made. Only Roushi stayed behind.

"Get going," Oonoki commanded. "We have to get out of Suna yet!" They took off running, the Tsuchikage stopping to throw a Dust Dragon to deter any pursuers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage's manor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roushi cursed inwardly. They left him behind.

"_**That's a good reason to leave them, isn't it?" **_Yonbi no Satori offered his opinion.

'Nobody asked you,' he sent back.

"_**You didn't have to," **_the overgrown monkey smirked._** "I know what you think, remember."**_

'How could I ever forget.' Roushi mentally rolled his eyes. 'You'd never let me.'

"_**Too right."**_

'But this isn't a good time to defect. In case you didn't notice we're in the middle of a battle in the heart of an enemy territory and the sand is about to bury us alive.'

"_**So what?" **_The Four-tailed Ape shrugged. _**"I'm with you."**_

'So we should stick to them if we want to survive,' the red-headed man explained.

"_**You're a pessimist," **_the Satori huffed.

'I prefer realist,' Roushi corrected. 'And now we should really work on getting out of here.'

"_**If you insist," **_the demon sighed. _**"Do you need more power?"**_

'Maybe a little.'

Roushi felt the power of the Bijuu surging through his veins. He swung his chakra tails around, knocking away the attacking wave of sand. A scream of rage reached his ears, but he paid it no attention. He had to act quickly. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki looked ready to pounce.

His fingers flew through a lengthy series of handseals. It took him longer than he would have liked, but the benefits of his jutsu of choice outweighted the delay. He almost didn't make it. The little blond boy was already in the air, flying at him, when he finished. The ground in front of him shifted, a dragon's head made of molten rock rising out of it. A long neck soon followed. The red slitted eyes of the attacking boy widened in surprise and fear. The Kyuubi vessel swung his single tail forward before the Lava Dragon smashed into him. The child was sent flying. The dragon didn't stop its movement. It turned towards the Ichibi jinchuuriki, who was readying another wave of sand to bury him alive. The Yonbi-empowered technique pierced right through it and continued on its path barely slowing. It headed straight for the redhead. The sand surged to protect its master, but it did him little good. It barely cushioned the impact before he was thrown backwards. The dragon turned once more. This time it was headed towards where the two Kage were standing. They quickly moved out of the way. The dragon flew out of the room and dissipated. Roushi ran along the path it cleared for him. Nobody tried to stop him. Only the sand twitched around him and he thought he heard a shout of "mother wants blood." Then he was out on the street.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the ballroom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto picked himself up from the wall he had landed in. Everything hurt, but his tenant was already taking care of the damage.

"_**That filthy monkey,"**_ the Kyuubi seethed. _**"Kill him for it."**_

'He's running,' the boy pointed out. 'And nobody asked your opinion.'

"_**Impudent brat."**_

'I love you too.' He ignored the demon's growling and got to his feet. He looked around. He couldn't see Roushi anywhere. That was strange. Where did the Iwa jinchuuriki go?

"**Mother wants blood!"** Gaara's voice was distorted, but Naruto recognized it anyway. His friend was completely enveloped in sand, taking the form of a miniature Tanuki. Only the tail was missing, but it was slowly forming from the sand lying around. It didn't take a genius to realize what was happening. Naruto cursed. If the Shukaku got released here… he didn't want to think of the implication. Then the sand monstrosity moved and started running. **"Come back so I can kill you!"** Naruto cursed again. If Gaara let out his tenant in the village, it would be even worse. He forced his still aching legs to move and rushed after Gaara.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near the dais~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Kazekage felt relieved when the Iwa jinchuuriki ran away. Finally the disastrous battle was over and they could regroup. Then he noticed Gaara being completely out of control. Oh crap. The nightmare hadn't ended yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Streets of Sunagakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"_**Kill him!" **_Shukaku demanded. _**"I want his blood!"**_

'Yes, Mother,' Gaara agreed. 'You'll get it.'

"_**Let me out! I'll kill him!"**_

'No, I'll kill him myself.' He was in pain and that was a sensation he wasn't used to. Even when Naruto had wounded him during their fight it didn't hurt that badly. He wanted revenge and that thought drowned all others. A small part of his mind insisted that he shouldn't be doing this, but he paid it no heed. He was interested only in the escaping form of Roushi and nothing else mattered. Around him the citizens of Suna who didn't flee yet were scattering out of his path. He ignored their squeals of terror. They were insects to him. Insignificant.

The Kazekage manor was near to the center of Suna, just next to the Administration Tower. There was a lot of ground to be covered before they left the inhabited area. Roushi was running fast and Gaara found that his sand-covered body moved too slowly to catch up with him. He created a platform of floating sand and jumped onto it. He commanded it to move forward. He immediately started gaining on the runaway Yonbi jinchuuriki. Roushi noticed that as well and quickened his pace. He managed to get to the outskirts of Suna before the deranged Ichibi vessel reached him.

"_**Obnoxious little brat," **_the Satori commented. Roushi agreed wholeheartedly. He turned around, running his hands through seals. Gaara jumped down from his platform, his monstrous sand arms reaching forward to grab the Iwa ninja. The sand between them melted, forming a snarling dragon's head. Gaara saw it, but was too slow to dodge. Or perhaps he didn't care, already having forgotten his earlier encounter with this very technique. He merely crossed his arms in front of him and summoned more sand for his protection. The dragon slammed into it. It didn't gain the speed necessary to break through the Shukaku's defense, but it managed to throw the sand monster backwards.

Gaara landed on his back painfully. He managed to avoid further injuries, but the old ones were irritated and began hurting more than when they were first inflicted.

"_**Let me out! I'll kill that filthy monkey," **_Shukaku screamed.

'Yes, Mother,' Gaara answered. He didn't even have to use the Forced Sleep technique. He simply closed his eyes and succumbed to unconsciousness.

"_**I'm free! I'm finally free!" **_Shukaku gloated. He picked himself up from the ground, his sand body slowly reforming and growing even bigger than it was before. _**"I'm going to squash you," **_he promised the startled Roushi.

"_**So the Tanuki is out," **_Yonbi commented. _**"He's even crazier than I remember him."**_

'What does it mean for us?' the Iwa ninja asked.

"_**Duck!" **_Roushi didn't waste a single moment to jump out of his position. It wasn't a moment too soon. He barely managed to vacate the area before it was hit by an Air Pressure Bullet. Sand was thrown into the air, obscuring the vision of everybody around.

"_**The Kyuubi is coming," **_The Yonbi informed its host. Before Roushi could form a thought, it continued. _**"Yes, I know it isn't good, so we should just run. And don't worry, they won't be following us. The Ichibi would turn on him. Before they're finished with each other, we'll be long gone."**_

'You sure?'

"_**Of course," **_the Satori rolled his eyes, _**"and now run. We don't have much time." **_Roushi obeyed.

Naruto arrived just in time to see Shukaku fire the Air Bullet. He noticed the Iwa jinchuuriki dodging. He looked around, trying to guess when the next attack would come from. He didn't expect it to come in the form of sand enveloping his legs, trying to squash him. He flared the Kyuubi's chakra, sending it flying.

"Gaara!" He shouted. The sand monstrosity turned towards him.

"_**So here you are, worm,"**_ the giant snarled._** "Come so I can crush you!"**_

"_**Shukaku," **_the Nine-tails said.

'Really?' Naruto retorted sarcastically. 'I wouldn't have noticed.'

"_**Cut your sarcasm," **_the fox chided, _**"we have no time for it. It's sometimes said that Shukaku is the god of the desert and you are about to find out why."**_

'Is it just me or do you really sound scared?' Naruto mentally raised an eyebrow. 'And what's the big deal? We beat him once before.'

"_**He didn't have time to fully unleash his power back then," **_the kitsune pointed out.

'Even so, you have eight more tails,' the blond reminded him.

"_**And he has the whole desert at his command," **_the Nine-Tails retorted. _**"We can beat him, but you must be careful. Don't let a single grain of his sand get close to you. You don't want to know what even one of those specks can do to your intestines."**_

'I understand.'

"_**You better do. And watch out, here he comes."**_

Sure enough, the sand monster was walking towards them, murder in its strange yellow eyes. Naruto considered his options. Last time he had managed to win through his use of Explosive Tags. He had none of those now. He had no weapon at all, his only kunai lost after Roushi's dragon smashed him into the wall. He couldn't even remember when he had dropped the ANBU's sword. Probably when Roushi had first hit him. He looked around for anything he could use, but shinobi weapons and equipment generally didn't lie at every corner even in shinobi villages, so he found nothing. He only came to the discovery they were still in the residential area. 'I have to take this elsewhere,' he realized. The stone plateau around the village had already served him once, so he decided to use it again.

He jumped high into the air, using his chakra to stick to a wall of a building before jumping again, this time reaching the roof. The houses on the outskirts of Suna weren't as big as the hive-like structures near the centre of the village, so the Shukaku still towered over him. One giant fist came down to smash him, but he didn't wait for it to fall. He ran across the rooftops out of the village. Shukaku predictably followed.

"_**Come back!" **_The sand demon shouted. _**"I'll get you back for last time!"**_

"Try it!" Naruto shouted over his shoulder. The only response he got was a wave of sand rising in front of him. His eyes widened. It was huge. Far bigger than anything he saw Gaara use before.

"_**I told you the Shukaku is a god within the desert," **_Kyuubi reminded him.

'Better tell me how to get out of this,' the blond shot back.

"_**I thought you already knew."**_

'Wake Gaara up,' Naruto stated.

"_**Exactly."**_

'But that doesn't solve the tsunami.'

"_**You have my power at your disposal and can't think of anything?" **_Kyuubi sounded angry. Well, angrier that usual. _**"You're even more pathetic then I originally thought."**_

'Just shut up.' He had no time to talk with his tenant now. The huge sand wave was almost on top of him. He concentrated his chakra cloak in the front and jumped straight into the approaching mass of sand, releasing his power in one burst. The sand was thrown in all directions, but began reforming quickly. Naruto barely had time to run through the gap.

"_**Did I mention that Shukaku's power grows the longer he is out?" **_The fox sounded bored.

'You didn't.' Naruto scowled. 'And you seem to be enjoying yourself quite a lot.'

"_**Of course," **_the beast grinned._** "You're about to realize you cannot take him with your meager skills and would have to allow me control."**_

'Not. Going. To. Happen.'

"_**Don't be so sure, whelp. And don't even try to challenge me to another game of chicken."**_

'Wouldn't dream of it.'

The conversation was cut short by the sand under him shifting, about to form another wave.

"_**I'm going to kill everybody!" **_Shukaku shouted. Naruto swore. If the Ichibi unleashed his sand on Suna…

"_**Why do you even care?" **_Kyuubi asked. The blond didn't bother to answer. He had to act fast to save the village. _**"This isn't your home," **_the fox added.

Naruto quickly considered his options. There was no way he could wake Gaara in time. But maybe he could distract Shukaku and make him forget about Suna. He took a deep breath. He had only read about this technique before, never attempting to perform it. But he knew the proper handseals and the tips on molding his chakra. And none of his other jutsu would have the desired effect. His fingers flashed through the unfamiliar sequence. He lifted his joined hands to his mouth and exhaled. Flames erupted from his mouth. He didn't bother with the fine details of the technique, forgoing the forming of the proper shape to gain longer reach. He was surprised how well he was doing. The flames were long and hot, holding together in a snake-like body. Naruto tried to direct it at Shukaku, but failed. The fire refused to bend to his will. 'Guess I really have to practice,' he thought.

Fortunately his initial aim wasn't too far off. The flame projectile hit the ground next to Shukaku's feet, sending droplets of molten glass flying. It didn't hurt the demon, but it had caught its attention.

"Try fighting somebody who can fight back first, you coward!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs.

"_**I'm not a coward!" **_The blond allowed himself a smile. The Ichibi sure was predictable.

"Then come and get me, if you can," he taunted. The monstrous tanuki roared and sprung forward. Naruto ran in front of him, leading the demon away from Suna.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage manor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Kazekage sighed. Covertly, of course. It wouldn't do for the village leader if he was seen distraught by his subordinates. The fighting had finally died down after the Iwa delegation ran away. Now the worst danger had passed the real headache began.

The question was, what should he do now? Should he consider Sunagakure already at war or was there still hope for a peaceful solution? Taking a look around, he decided it was unlikely. He turned to the group of jounin and ANBU gathered around.

"Assemble a search party," he commanded. "Follow the Iwa shinobi. Act if you have the opportunity, but don't engage the Tsuchikage himself."

"Understood."

"Scatter."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the ballroom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo could finally breathe freely. The Iwa jounin who was threatening to kill him if he lowered his guard for just a moment was finally gone. He took a look around. Where was his team? He had noticed Naruto chasing after the Iwa jinchuuriki and Gaara, but he knew nothing about Hana and Hotaru. He was torn. Which one of his students should he try saving first? Naruto was facing two powerful opponents, but at least he was conscious and relatively uninjured. The girls could be slowly dying under the debris for all he knew. And there wasn't like he could do much against such powerful demon vessels. He decided to trust Naruto to handle himself for a while and went to search for his other students. He tried asking first. The silver hair of Kakashi shone like a beacon not far from him.

"Dog," he called his friend's ANBU codename. "Have you seen my students?"

"Well," the man said wiping off the blood flowing from a multitude of minor scratches, "Naruto just ran off chasing after the two monsters."

"I noticed that," he replied. "Everybody did. Did you see my other students?"

"I saw the Inuzuka with her family," Kakashi offered, "but it was near the beginning of the battle."

"And Hotaru?"

"I don't know," the ANBU shrugged.

"Lioness took care of her." Both men turned startled to the speaker.

"Hokage-sama!" They both fell to their knees before their leader.

"At ease," Sarutobi said. "Don't worry about Hana and Hotaru, they got out of this safely. Only Naruto is still in trouble. Go to him and Dog, you go as well. I'd go myself but I have to smooth the diplomacy." They both bowed and departed.

They ran alongside each other through the mostly deserted streets of Sunagakure. Only a handful of shinobi were running around, pretending they knew what they were doing. It was easy to follow the path the three jinchuuriki had taken. The tracks of the giant Tanuki were unmistakable. They lead straight ahead to the edge of the village. Soon they came within sight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~outside Sunagakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto stopped when he reached the bottom of the cliffs surrounding Suna. It took him only a moment to determine that he wouldn't be able to climb up in time. He'd have to face Shukaku here and now. 'All I have to do is wake Gaara. I can do it. But how? He's covered in so much sand.' He couldn't think of any technique that would help him here. 'Guess I'll have to use brute force.'

He concentrated on turning his chakra to Wind. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. He imagined his body to be a large drill, the blades of wind whirling around him. Much to his surprise the chakra around him started to move in circles. He didn't stop to ponder on it. He had a demon to defeat and a friend to save.

He leapt forward. Shukaku tried to hit him while he was airborne, but Naruto's movement aided by the Kyuubi was too fast for him. The blond flew through the air and slammed right into Shukaku's chest. The sharpened chakra pierced the sand body. It was hard and solid, but he got deep inside. It wasn't deep enough. He couldn't see Gaara's body.

The sand around him tightened, threatening so squeeze the life out of him. He flared his chakra and the grains were pushed away. He forced himself to move forward.

"_**Nice situation you got us in," **_the Kitsune commented. Naruto ignored him.

"Gaara!" He shouted. "Gaara! Can you hear me?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~with Gaara~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Something shook him. It wasn't enough to rouse him completely, but it sent him into the realm between dreams and waking. What was it? He mused idly.

"_**Nothing," **_Mother replied. _**"Go back to sleep."**_ If Mother said it was nothing, then it was nothing. He didn't close his eyes, because they were already closed, and started drifting back to sleep. Then he heard something. He neared wakefulness once more. What was it? Ah, now he could hear it better. Somebody was calling his name. Who was it? He knew that voice, he was sure of it, if he could just remember…

"_**Sleep, child." **_Mother sounded stern and displeased. He should obey her.

"Gaara!" The voice sounded again, this time closer.

"_**Sleep!" **_Mother ordered. He didn't like being ordered around. He opened his eyes out of spite.

"_**No!"**_ Mother screeched. _**"I won't go back!"**_ He felt tired and hurt and something was forcing his eyes closed. It would be so easy to give in and sleep a little longer…

"Gaara! Can you hear me?" Naruto. It was Naruto. His friend was calling for him. He tried to answer, to open his eyes.

"_**No!" **_Shukaku yelled. _**"You can't force me back!"**_

'You bet I can,' the jinchuuriki answered. He pushed hard to regain control over his body, but the Ichibi refused to let go. A battle of wills started and Gaara was exhausted before it even began. But he couldn't give up. His friend needed him. He couldn't let Naruto face Shukaku alone. He knew the blond was strong, but Shukaku was god of the desert. He willed with all his might to stay awake, to force the Ichibi back into the seal, but his strength was rapidly leaving him.

Then suddenly the Shukaku's power faltered.

"_**No!" **_The demon screamed. Gaara seized the opportunity. He forced his eyes open and concentrated on the waking world. _**"No!" **_Shukaku screamed again, but his voice sounded weaker. His hold over Gaara was slipping. The giant sand body began falling apart. He started falling as well, but he called on the sand to slow his descent.

"Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed. He was still enveloped in Kyuubi's chakra, but his tail had already disappeared. The chakra cloak was dissipating and when he reached him, only his eyes remained red, but even they quickly morphed to blue.

"Are you alright, Gaara?" The redhead didn't understand why the blond was asking him. It was he who had just tried to kill him, so why? "You're wounded!" Naruto exclaimed. "Come on, let's get you to the hospital."

"Why?" the tattooed youth asked.

"Why what?" Naruto looked into Gaara's dark-rimmed eyes puzzled.

"Why do you care?" The expression on Gaara's face spoke of total befuddlement.

"Because you're my friend," the blond stated. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I just tried to kill you," the tattooed youth explained.

"That was Shukaku," Naruto replied. "And we really should be going."

"That we should," a familiar voice stated. Only now he noticed Tenzo along with one Konoha ANBU standing close. He also spotted two trees growing near. He puzzled together what had occurred here. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," his guardian replied. "But can you please refrain from pulling such stunts in the future? I can't do that every day." He gestured to the trees. Creating them left him in a state of near exhaustion. Mokuton was created from Earth and Water and while there was earth in abundance everywhere, there was hardly any water in the desert.

"Believe me," Naruto answered solemnly, "I don't want to do this ever again."

"That's good to hear. And now let's get back."

"Yes, let's head back," Naruto replied. He stood up with Gaara still in his arms, swayed on his feet and fainted. He landed on top of the other boy.

"Aren't they cute together?" Kakashi commented.

"Keep your comments to yourself," Tenzo chided. He picked Naruto from the ground. "Take Gaara and let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The plateau above Suna~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roushi met with the remains of the Iwa delegation not far from the village. There were pitifully few of them, only eight counting him.

"So here you are," the Tsuchikage stated.

"Yes," he answered evenly. Inside he seethed. They had left him behind without as much as asking him to act as their rear guard and now they acted like nothing had ever happened. And for them it probably didn't. He was just a jinchuuriki, a living weapon, a being less then human in their eyes, so what did it matted if he died doing his duty.

"_**Too late to run now," **_the Satori commented.

'Shut up,' he sent back.

"_**Why so rude? I only echo your thoughts."**_

'And that's exactly why you should shut up.'

"Get moving, everybody," Oonoki commanded, cutting short Roushi's conversation with his tenant. "Suna undoubtedly already sent their hunters, so we should put as much ground between ourselves and them as possible."

"What about water?" Kageromaru asked. It was unheard of a genin to question their Kage, at least in Iwa, but everybody was so stressed out that they didn't care about protocol.

"There's an oasis not too far. If we move quickly, we can reach it. And now go." With those words the midget man jumped forward, his entourage following him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Great Wind Desert~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What was that supposed to mean?" Sasori shouted. His usually calm and collected demeanor was gone.

"What are you referring to?" Orochimaru's face remained calm and impassive.

"The stunt you just pulled!" The puppeteer was uncharacteristically angry.

"What stunt?" The Konoha nukenin raised an eyebrow.

"Don't play dumb," the masked ninja scoffed. "I know you caused the mess."

"I don't know what are you talking about." The Snake Sannin looked like the embodiment of innocence.

"Cut it, Orochimaru." The former Suna ninja was in no mood for his partner's mind games. "Do you think I'd believe that a comatose patient suddenly woke up and attacked the one who put him in that state? What kind of idiot do you have me for?"

"And what if I did it? What does it matter?" Orochimaru's manner was nonchalant.

"It destroyed out plan, that's why it matters."

"Destroyed?" The pale man raised an eyebrow. "I merely sped it up."

"Sped it up?" Sasori hissed. "Don't be ridiculous. You completely botched it. I'd like to see you explain it to our Leader."

"He'll understand it." The taller man sounded completely self-assured.

"I wouldn't be so sure," the shorter one growled. "More likely he'll let you know the power of Pain."

"You're a pessimist."

"More like a realist," Sasori corrected. "And I'm beginning to doubt your loyalties, Orochimaru."

"I assure you I'm loyal to the Akatsuki," the pale man lied through his teeth.

"It's not me you have to convince," the puppet master pointed out.

"I know." And he did. But he didn't plan on convincing Pain anyway. His Immortality jutsu was finally finished, all that was left was obtaining a good body. And he knew about one, the newest addition to Akatsuki. He had always coveted the Uchiha's Sharingan and more so the Magenkyo version. Its current owner would protest, but that didn't concern him. Sure, Uchiha Itachi was good, but he would be no match for the greatest of the Legendary Sannin, as Orochimaru referred to himself. Soon all the techniques in the world would be within his reach. Then he would go to his newly built Hidden Sound village, which despite being still under construction was already a formidable fortress. The Akatsuki had provided generous funding in hope of using it as their basis of operation. Fools the lot of them. Orochimaru made sure that the Sound shinobi were loyal to him and him only. The Akatsuki would have to go homeless, at least until Pain finally conquered the Hidden Rain, but Orochimaru couldn't see it happening anytime soon. The self-proclaimed God had an awful lot of trouble with mere mortals.

He allowed himself a small smile. Yes, any trouble he would get into for this were outweighted by the benefits. He didn't care for the Akatsuki's agenda one bit. He had his own goals and one of them was the destruction of Konoha. He had originally joined the organization in hopes of getting help with it, but they were moving too slow for his tastes. Orochimaru never liked waiting for what he desired, Sarutobi-sensei's lessons in patience never etching into the young prodigy's brain. He wanted to see Konoha burn and he wanted to see it soon. Having it weaken in a war against Iwa was a good way to accomplish it. He would have preferred to do it himself, but Otogakure was still too weak.

But even if his plan failed, simply seeing Sensei's face in the moment he realized his foolish dreams of peace had just crumbled was priceless. The Konoha nukenin was going to savor the memory for a long time to come. Yes, life was good.

* * *

Next time: Aftermath of the battle


	29. Aftermath

**A.N.:** So here comes another chapter. Please excuse lower quality of some scenes, writing this was hard and I'm not rewriting it again, so please put up with me. Next couple of chapters should be better.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Do I look like Kishimoto to you?**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was well past midnight, close to the morning in fact, but the leader of Sunagakure was still up. Even if he already knew the situation had gone to hell, he didn't realize it would be so bad. The retrieval teams had finally finished going through the rubble and were now trying to identify the victims. Many of the bodies were destroyed during the fight of the three jinchuuriki, but those they recognized were bad enough. Beside the Wind Country Daimyo they retrieved a nephew of the Earth Country Daimyo, cousin of the Fire Country Daimyo, sister of the Bear Country Daimyo, fiancée of the Rain Country Daimyo's son and two high-ranking members of Grass Country Daimyo's court. There was also somebody who looked like a minor noble from Lightning Country, though it was still unconfirmed, and somebody from Waterfall. The list wasn't finished yet. The Kazekage dreaded to think of who would appear next.

There was a knock on the door and the Kazekage looked up. What was it now? He doubted that it would be good news. He couldn't imagine what news would count as good now.

"Kazekage-sama?" It was his secretary.

"What is it now?" He was hard-pressed not to growl. But he couldn't. He was the Kazekage, their leader. He had to present a façade of calmness in the face of trying times, so his shinobi wouldn't lose their hearts.

"Hokage-sama came to see you." So the other Kage wasn't sleeping as well. Somehow the thought failed to improve his mood today.

"Send him in." He wasn't in the formal setting of his audience chamber, he wasn't even wearing his full robes, but this wasn't the time to care about protocol.

The door opened and Sarutobi walked in. He was once again in his pristine robes of state. The Kazekage idly wondered how many sets he got and why he even cared. The ones he had worn at the banquet were beyond repair.

"Greetings, Kazekage-dono," the older man began. "I hope I'm not inconveniencing you."

"Not at all," he answered truthfully. He welcomed any interruption form his rather depressing routine. "I trust your people are well, Hokage-dono."

"Those who survived this long will be alright," the older man answered gravely. The Kazekage didn't know what to say to it, but Sarutobi saved him by continuing. "But it isn't what I came to talk to you about."

"What is?" Somehow he couldn't imagine it would be something good.

"My shinobi reported to me some rather disturbing things about the person who started the fighting," Sarutobi announced.

"You mean Akatsuchi? I've heard something as well, but the report was sketchy and far-fetched," the blue-robed man replied.

"I have it confirmed by several trustworthy witnesses. Akatsuchi acted more like a puppet than a human, moving even when gravely wounded."

The Kazekage took only a moment to ponder over it. He did consider the possibility himself. "You mean a third party was involved?"

"It is possible," the Hokage confirmed. "The Tsuchikage wouldn't have sacrificed his own grandson in this way. For all he ever did, he loves his family dearly. He looked surprised when Akatsuchi appeared. And Akatsuchi himself couldn't even get out of bed, unless the medics completely botched his diagnosis. Yes, Kazekage-dono, I believe someone else was involved."

"Now the question is who and why," the Kazekage muttered.

"I think the why is clear," the Professor answered gravely.

"War," the Kazekage voiced what had been going through his mind since the first blow.

"Exactly."

"Even if we prove somebody else started it, our Daimyos are going to call for revenge." The list of casualties grew heavy in his hand.

"There might still be a chance to turn their vengeance against those truly responsible," Sarutobi suggested. "If we analyzed Akatsuchi's corpse, we might discover something."

"First we have to find his body." The Kazekage's voice was bitter.

"Is there a problem?"

"It was probably destroyed during the fight," the leader of Hidden Sand explained. "Even if we determined which one of the lumps of coal is him, I doubt there would be any traces left."

"What about his hospital room?" the Hokage asked gravely.

"It was empty," the Kazekage answered. "My specialists couldn't find any trace of what occurred there."

"That's too bad." Sarutobi looked grim.

"That it is." There was a moment of heavy silence. Both village leaders were remembering the last war and guessing what the next would bring. "When the war starts," the Kazekage asked, "will the treaty between Suna and Konoha still hold?"

"I can't tell what our Daimyo is going to do, but unless he orders otherwise, we will face the times ahead as allies."

"That's good to hear." It was the first good news tonight. "Suna will be glad to stand beside Konoha."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The hotel~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana didn't sleep the whole night. First she had to drag her little brother, her mother and her dog to safety, but thankfully the Suna genin helped her. Then she used her still insufficient medical knowledge to make sure they'll survive. Thankfully they were only knocked out, their wounds superficial. Then she had to take care of her brother. It took a lot of hugging before Kiba broke out of his stupor. The boy then started crying and remained that way for over an hour before he cried himself into sleep. She tucked him into the bed and went to look for her teammates. She found them in their room, roughened up and completely exhausted, but all of them thankfully alive and in one piece. Only then she could grab a couple of hours of sleep for herself.

She thought she only closed her eyes for a moment when she was woken by a wet tongue in her face. The Haimaru siblings were reminding her that they didn't get any food or water since yesterday. She picked herself up and went to find them some. When she got back, her mother was awake as well.

"What happened yesterday?" she asked. Hana quickly retold what had occurred after she passed out.

"Hn," Tsume said when her daughter finished. "At least we're all alive."

"Then why do you look so grim?" her daughter inquired.

"And why would I not? Do you realize what all that means?"

"War?"

"Precisely," the clan head nodded vigorously. "War. And do you know what that means?"

"I can imagine?" Hana tried.

"You only think you can imagine," Tsume corrected her. "If you think what happened to your first team was bad, now things are going to be so much worse! I know, I already lived through one. I hoped you two wouldn't have to, but that's not going to happen."

"You mean even Kiba?" Hana was taken aback.

"Yes, even little Kiba," she confirmed.

"But he still has over three years until graduation," the younger woman pointed out. "Maybe the war would be over by then."

"He'd have three years in peacetime," her mother corrected. "During wartime, graduation age is lowered to make up for our losses. He would be graduating in a year and the fighting would be still on by that time."

Hana didn't know what to say to that. She was saved from having to answer by Kiba awakening.

"I'm hungry," he announced.

"You always are," his mother replied like nothing was wrong. Hana didn't understand how she could look so calm after all that was said. "Let's make breakfast. I'm hungry too."

They ate in silence. Kiba concentrated on wolfing down his food, Hana not trusting her voice.

"I've been thinking," Tsume began when they finished. "It's time for you to get your own dog."

"Really?!" Kiba jumped high in the air.

"Yes," Tsume confirmed.

"Yay!" He punched the air. "I'm going to have my own dog! Did you hear, sis? I'm going to be an awesome ninja in no time, you'll see!"

"I'm sure you will," Hana replied subdued. Kiba, even in his elation, picked up on it.

"What's wrong, sis?"

"Nothing," she lied. She didn't want to disturb her brother's moment of happiness. It might be the last one in a long time to come.

"Did something happen to you yesterday?" Kiba inquired, suddenly serious. "It was bad there, wasn't it?"

"It was," she nodded, "but I'm alright."

"Then why are you so sad? Did something happen to your team?"

"No."

"Don't pry like that, Kiba," Tsume interrupted. "Hana doesn't want to talk about it, can't you see? You'll find out soon enough."

"Come on," he pouted. "Tell me: What is so bad?"

The two women looked at each other. Should they tell or not? Kiba, for all his shouting and bragging, was actually a clever boy and he would figure things out soon.

"That battle yesterday," Tsume began, "it might have started a war."

"That's bad, isn't it?" Only two grim faces answered him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He still felt tired, but the sun shining into his face insisted he woke up. He groaned and lifted himself on his elbows. One look showed he was alone in the room. That was new. Usually when he woke up after being wounded his teammates were lying on the other beds around him. He wondered what could that mean. 'I hope they are alright.' Before he could decide whether he should go look for them, the door opened and Tenzo entered.

"So you're finally awake," he greeted.

"As you can see," the genin replied. "Did I sleep that long?"

"Not really. It's only almost noon."

"How are the girls?" Naruto inquired.

"They're both alive and in one piece, though Hotaru is wounded."

"That's good to hear," the blond smiled. "May I go visit them?"

"You may, but you should wash first. There was no time yesterday. You have blood all over yourself."

"Okay." Naruto got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Bathrooms in Suna were nothing like the ones in Konoha. Water was a rare commodity in the desert and it mustn't be wasted. It took him quite some time to learn to use them, but now he took the washcloth with practiced ease, dipped it in the small covered basin and started scrubbing himself. The smears of blood, sweat and dust now came off easily. Well, all of them but one. One blood-red line on the back of his right hand refused to disappear no matter how hard he scrubbed it.

"What takes you so long?" Tenzo called from the next room.

"That one smear won't come off," the blond answered.

"Is it something so bad that nobody should see you with it?"

Naruto considered the tiny line. It wasn't anything much, it looked like some child have drawn a line with a liner. Really nothing to be bothered about. Expect the fact he had no idea how he got it. He was fairly sure there was no kid with paints around him yesterday.

"Not really," he answered coming out of the bathroom. "Let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Yet another room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotaru groaned. She felt like somebody had dragged through the meat grinder. She slowly opened her eyes. She squinted in the bright morning sun. Than the angle of the rays registered and she realized she couldn't really call the daytime morning anymore.

"So you're up now?" A voice asked form somewhere she couldn't see.

"Yuugao?" The girl slowly moved to get a look at her companion.

"Who else?" The woman smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Hotaru inquired.

"Just lying around. I can't really get up now." She pointed to her bandaged leg.

"I mean, aren't you supposed to be… you know…" the younger kunoichi didn't know how to finish the sentence without saying something she wasn't supposed to say.

"On duty?" Yuugao completed for her. "I'm excused for medical reasons."

"I can't believe we actually got out of there," Hotaru changed the topic. "How are the others, anyway?"

"Still alive, from what I heard. I don't know more myself. I'm a bit out of the loop here." A moment of silence passed between the two Uzuki females. The younger one broke it first.

"Wouldn't you get in trouble for yesterday?"

"If I did," the ANBU shrugged, "I would already know about it. It seems like nobody noticed anything, which I know is not true."

There was another moment of silence.

"I feel completely useless," Hotaru admitted.

"Why?" her cousin raised an eyebrow.

"I couldn't do anything yesterday." Her voice was filled with self-contempt.

"You were wounded," Yuugao consoled her. "You couldn't have done anything."

"I got wounded fighting some of the weakest opponents," the girl reminded her.

"There were no weak ones," the more experienced kunoichi pointed out.

"Still, I should have been better." Her issues with self-worth were acting up again and they showed no intention of disappearing anytime soon.

"Don't sell yourself short, you're advancing nicely," the older woman consoled her.

"But it's not enough." Hotaru sounded disgusted with herself.

"In ninja life, there are always situations where even your best isn't enough," Yuugao informed her. "You can't do anything about it, only strive to become stronger, so it won't happen next time."

"How do you deal?" Hotaru wanted to know.

"Everybody has to find their own way," the older woman explained. "You still haven't gotten anybody killed, so count yourself lucky."

"That's cold comfort," Hotaru objected.

"I know it is," Yuugao nodded, "but I have nothing better."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The morgue~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Temari found herself guarding the Wind Country Daimyo's daughter even after the battle was over. The girl refused to leave her even after she had completely torn her clothes while pushing her through the window. Thankfully she wasn't clutching her arm anymore. The young noblewoman had completely different things on her mind now.

The princess was currently standing over the corpse of her father, wailing and crying her eyes out. She had been at it for an hour already and she showed no sign of quieting down any time soon. Temari secretly admired her endurance, though outwardly she scoffed at her being such a crybaby. She would never admit that she felt uneasy spending so much time in a morgue.

The door opened suddenly, the creaking of the hinges resounding too loud in the underground chamber, interrupting the young noblewoman's lamenting. Temari almost jumped, but that would be unbecoming of a ninja. She turned to see who was coming. What if it was an enemy? Two days ago she would have laughed at the idea, how would anybody unwelcome get into the heart of Suna? Now she wasn't so confident anymore. After the battle at the banquet she didn't feel safe in her own home anymore.

The young kunoichi straightened when she recognized her father. Even the princess ceased her wailing in the presence of the Kazekage.

"Accept our most sincere condolences, Lady Kenreimon," the leader of Hidden Sand village spoke solemnly. How he managed to keep a straight face Temari didn't know, but there was a reason he became the Kazekage.

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama," the young noblewoman answered between sobs.

"I assure you that Suna will serve you faithfully just like we served your father." The double meaning was completely lost on the grieving daughter.

"Thank you." The princess tried to smile, but failed. "I don't even know what I should be doing," she admitted, "but I know that I want to avenge my father. Iwa cannot be allowed to get away with such heinous act. Would you assist me with this?"

"We will, Lady Kenreimon," he promised with conviction, "or should I say Daimyo-sama now?" He paused for a moment, before continuing in a more serious tone. "But you must understand, your father dreamed of peace and didn't support our military much. I don't know how much would we be able to do."

"I know," the princess nodded sadly. "I too dream of peace, but it isn't possible anymore. I'll give you anything you need for the war."

The Kazekage smiled behind his veil. If he knew this was all it was going to take…

"Thank you for your generosity, Kenreimon-hime," he bowed humbly. "We will do everything in our power to avenge your honorable father."

"I trust you with my vengeance," the girl said with fire in her eyes. "I want to see Iwa burn."

"If it's your wish, we'll make it happen, princess. If you excuse me now, I have to see to my troops."

"You are excused, Kazekage-sama. You know what to do better than me."

The leader of Suna bowed and left. A smile was playing on his lips. It was very fortunate for them to have a little girl easily manipulated for their Daimyo. With any luck he would be able to restore Suna to its former glory. Now he had a lot of work to do, like reactivating the ninja he had to send to early retirement due to the budget cuts and putting the village into war mode.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even with the state Suna was currently in, some formalities had to be fulfilled. That was why the second morning after the attack the nine finalists still present in Suna (alive) were gathered before the Kazekage.

"Because some of you have to leave soon, we'll make this brief. The ones that performed well enough to deserve the rank of Chuunin are those:

Akatsuchi,

Aoyume Daiki,

Gennosuke,

Inuzuka Hana,

Kamizuru Kageromaru,

Kurotsuchi,

Uzuki Hotaru,

Uzumaki Naruto.

If somebody doesn't like it, well better luck next time. That's all, you're excused."

The lucky and unlucky finalists filed out of the office. Hotaru stopped in the hallway. Her wounds started bothering her again.

"Does it hurt much?" Hana asked.

"It's not that bad," the purple-haired girl answered, "if I could lie in bed for a week."

"Too bad we're leaving today," Naruto grimaced.

"So you're leaving already?" The blond turned to the speaker.

"Gaara!" He smiled. "What are you doing here? Are you alright?"

"The Kazekage wanted to speak to me," the Suna jinchuuriki explained. "And I'm mostly healed."

"That's good to hear," the freshly promoted Chuunin answered. "Anyway, do you know my teammates? This is Hana and this is Hotaru."

"Hello," the girls replied reluctantly. Especially Hotaru couldn't still forget the monster the small redhead had turned into.

"Pleased to meet you," the tattooed youth answered. Since his voice was flat as ever, they couldn't tell whether he really meant it.

"Sorry I didn't come yesterday," the blond apologized, "but they didn't let me. Everybody is crazy about security with what happened at the banquet."

"That's alright," the other boy replied. "I wasn't in the mood for visitors anyway."

"But you are better now?" Naruto inquired.

"Yes. I meant to ask, why did you care so much back then?" No further clarification was needed. Both knew very well what Gaara was talking about.

"I told you already." Naruto gave him a look usually reserved for slow children. "Because you're my friend."

"That is the same," the redhead pointed out. "Why are you my friend?"

Naruto ran a hand through his hair. "How can I explain that? Because you reminded me of myself of a few years back? Does it make sense? It doesn't, does it? Well, I don't think friendship is something that can be explained. It either is or it isn't."

"I'll remember that," the redhead answered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konohagakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The journey back felt too long to them. Truth be told, it was much longer that their journey there, because they had to drag so many wounded with them. But that wasn't the only reason the travel felt endless. They all now realized painfully that they were a small group in potentially hostile territory and they could be attacked anytime. Every one of them let out a huge breath when the desert finally gave way to the green prairies and forests of River Country. Most of them had never been so glad to see the walls of Konoha again, the only exceptions among them being the war veterans.

The party walked through the gates. The chuunin at guard, twice more of them than was usually stationed there, were extremely grateful to see the Hokage back. The messenger birds have carried in the reports of the battle days ago and since then everybody was on edge. They all looked like they expected Konoha to be invaded anytime. But now the Sandaime was back, they felt like they didn't need to fear anymore. The Professor would surely know what to do.

Sarutobi let the party disband. Everybody went wherever they needed to be, for most of them it was the hospital. He headed to his office. For once he didn't even think of the pile of documents that must have accumulated during his absence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarutobi barely started on his paperwork, when he realized he had a visitor.

"Did you ever hear about doors, Jiraiya?" he asked.

"Sorry, sensei," the Toad Sage answered from his spot on the windowsill. "It reminds me of something, but I can't put a finger on it."

"Cut your joking, Jiraiya," the older man chided. "I'm in no mood for it today."

"I noticed," the self-proclaimed Super Pervert answered jumping from his perch. "I thought you might need some cheering up."

"You thought wrong," the Sandaime scowled. "And if you're finished, we have serious matters to discuss."

"That we do," the big man agreed. "I have some news about Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru," the Hokage scoffed. "Is that everything you concentrate on? I noticed lately that you've been neglecting everything else."

"Now, now, sensei," Jiraiya lifted his arms in defense. "Isn't it a bit harsh?"

"I don't think so." Sarutobi stated. "Tell me: what do you know about Suna's jinchuuriki?"

"Not much," the Toad Sage scratched his head. "He's young and they haven't used him yet, he was revealed only recently."

"Strange thing," the older man said, "is that apparently all of Suna knew. Why didn't you? Don't you have anybody there?"

"Suna is hard to infiltrate," the spymaster (though that was currently in question) explained. "Nobody moves there and the locals are extremely suspicious of strangers. Every travel is easily monitored. Add in the fact that it's fairly small and everybody knows everybody else by sight, it's every spy's nightmare. Ever since my last agent there died six years ago, I barely got any information from there."

"I would accept that excuse from everybody else, but you should be better than that."

"Perhaps I should," the long-haired man sighed.

"I'm glad you agree," Sarutobi said sternly. "So are you going to improve?"

"Yes, sensei."

"And now: What do you know about what happened in Suna?"

"Not much more that is generally known, but I've heard some disconcerting rumors. I came upon them when I was digging around Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru again," the Sandaime sighed. "So what is it?"

"Remember the supposed new village in Rice Fields Country? How Naruto's team fought the Kaguya?"

"Yes," Sarutobi nodded. "What about it?"

"I couldn't confirm it, but there are strong hints that Orochimaru is involved," the white-haired Sannin dropped the bombshell.

"I see." The Hokage frowned. "That's disturbing indeed, but how is that connected to the mess in Suna?"

"I'm getting to it. There is the question where Orochimaru got the funds to start a new village. He left Konoha in a hurry and he wasn't that rich to begin with."

"And you know something about that?"

Jiraiya nodded. "From what I gathered, the new village was visited by strange people. They were all masked, but were wearing the same uniform. Those who saw them said they carried themselves like very powerful ninja and that their leader seemed to defer to one of them."

"Orochimaru actually deferring to somebody?" Sarutobi's eyebrows rose. Then he scowled. "That's a fearsome thought."

"Exactly," the spymaster agreed. "I couldn't get much out of them, but it seems like there is a powerful organization with lots of money, who-knows-how-much members and completely mysterious objectives. If Orochimaru is indeed part of them, it cannot be possibly anything good." Sarutobi considered his student's words. What little they knew about Akatsuchi's condition hinted at the use of a powerful kinjutsu. And Orochimaru was an expert on those.

"They could very well be behind the mess in Suna, though there is no proof," he speculated.

"I'll look into it, sensei," Jiraiya promised.

"Do it. But there's one more thing."

"What thing?" The self-proclaimed Super-pervert had a sinking feeling he wasn't going to like this.

"We need to gather all our strength for the war," the aged Kage announced. Jiraiya slightly paled. 'He can't possibly mean…'

"You want me to stay in the village?" he asked slowly. "I won't be able to investigate that way."

"No, not you," the Third shook his head. The Gama Sennin let out a breath. "I want you to find Tsunade and get her back." Now Jiraiya paled again.

"R-really?" he stuttered. Find Tsunade? Confront her? No matter how much he wanted to see the Slug Princess again, he had no desire to get punched into dirt or lower Earth orbit, depending on what mood the Legendary Sucker currently was in. "B-but she wouldn't come. You know she swore she'd never return."

"How could I ever forget?" Sarutobi sighed. "But we need her. I let her wander for too long as it is. It's time for her to resume her duty."

"It would be better if she heard it from you, sensei." 'She might refrain from killing me this way. Maybe.'

"It would," the Hokage agreed, his thoughts running along similar tracks. "I'll write a letter for her."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Iwagakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryoutenbin no Oonoki didn't have a good day. After they escaped Sunagakure, they had to travel through the Great Wind Desert with almost no supplies and Sand ninja in tow. It was an experience he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. Well, maybe there were one or two people he would wish it on. In the end, only four of them made it to the Earth Country. He, his granddaughter Kurotsuchi, for which he was eternally grateful, her sensei Takeshi and Roushi.

The mess in Suna was a real tragedy for them. Some of their best had died in the battle. Iwa would miss them dearly in the upcoming war. He spent the whole day going over the resources of the village, counting the battle-ready shinobi and their ranks, their stocks of supplies and their defense lines. What he came up with wasn't overly optimistic. Granted, it could have been much worse, but it could have been much better as well. Despite over a decade passing since the end of the Third Great Shinobi War, The Village Hidden in he Rocks hadn't still completely healed its wounds. Their defeat had been painful and bitter and despite their best effort, he wasn't sure they were ready for the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

His thoughts turned back to his deceased grandson. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the scene of the announcement. Akatsuchi suddenly appearing in the doorway, walking to the dais, then suddenly turning and attacking the Konoha brat. The more he thought about it, the more he was certain that it wasn't really his grandson who had disrupted the celebration. But if it wasn't him, than who? Surely somebody who wanted to cause a war, whatever he wanted to gain from it. He considered Konoha, but discarded the option. That simply wasn't like old Sarutobi. Not to mention that they suffered blows to their strength recently as well. No, Konoha wasn't it. Suna? Ridiculous. They were struggling with their Daimyo's budget cuts, a war would ruin them. But it might also convince their lord to give them more money. That might be a motive, but it was quite a risky way of gaining money. They would be destroyed if it backfired. No, Suna wasn't it either. Maybe somebody who wanted them to take out each other and then finish off whoever survived? Maybe. But who? Kiri was crazy enough to pull such a stunt, but they were currently preoccupied with civil war, they didn't have the energy for anything else. Kumo? They were strong, it might have been them. He didn't even consider the minor villages. Neither of them could measure up to the Great Five. Someone else entirely? Maybe, but what gain would there be for them?

He cut the train of thought. It led nowhere, at least until he had more evidence. And even if he had the answer, it wouldn't change anything about the fact there was a war about to break out and he had a village to command. He had already gone through what he had at his disposal. He started thinking about what they would be facing. His thoughts always strayed to the Konoha jinchuuriki, in his opinion the one who had killed Akatsuchi. The feel of the demonic power, the sight of the red claw cutting into his grandson's body, the sickening crunch when his boy hit the arena wall were all things that would haunt him for years to come. He had lost another of his family to a blond devil from Konoha. He wanted to smash something, but if he destroyed his desk again, he would have to sort through the paperwork again and that was something he really didn't want to do ever again.

He reined in his wayward thoughts. He would have to deal with that little yellow menace promptly, before he grew up to be even more dangerous. With the war looming ahead it was even more important then before. But how to do it? Konoha would guard their weapon when they wouldn't be using him in battle. Then it would cost them too much casualties to deal with him. He filed it under plan B. What would be plan A? It wasn't like he could politely ask Konoha to hand him over. Or couldn't he? Kumo once got away with something similar. He didn't really expect it to work, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. He took out his brush and started writing.

* * *

The end for today.

Next time: What trouble would the Tsuchikage's letter cause?


	30. The letter

**A.N.:** So here comes another chapter and this one is with an ilustration. You can find it on my DeviantArt profile, the link is on my profile (for those new here).

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. People really should remember it after I repeated it for so many times.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tree hideout~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was staring at his right hand. There was a thin red line on the back side of it. It had been six days since he had first discovered it and since then it didn't change one bit. He wracked his brain to find out what it could mean. He couldn't come up with anything. The worst thing was that he didn't even know how and when did it appear. He didn't have it before the fateful banquet, that much he was sure about. He had discovered it on the next day. And ever since then it stayed with him. He ran his left thumb across it. It didn't feel any different from the rest of his skin. He sighed. It didn't seem like he would figure out anything today.

His ears detected a soft sound. He stiffened for a moment and then relaxed. It was only Tenzo. He watched as his guardian climbed through the door.

"Hello," he greeted.

"Hello," Naruto answered.

"Why so down today?" the Mokuton wielder asked.

"Why not?" the jinchuuriki shrugged.

"It's not like you," the older man pointed out.

"You're right," the blond sighed. "It's just that so many things happened."

"Anything particular?" the jounin inquired.

"Well, yes." Naruto told him about the meting with the Kyuubi and the demon's ultimatum and the subsequent confrontation during the battle.

"I see," Tenzo said gravely. "You did well when you refused its offer."

"Thanks," the child replied. "That's what I needed to hear. What would have happened if I accepted?"

"I'm not sure," his guardian shrugged. "There is much about the Yondaime's seal no-one else understands."

"Can you make a guess?" the demon vessel prodded.

"Well," the man shrugged, "I'm no sealmaster."

"Can you try anyway?" Naruto prodded.

"There is some suspicion that the seal might be weakened by extensive use of its chakra," he offered.

"Define extensive."

Tenzo only shrugged again. "There are no data."

"Figures." Naruto grimaced. "Do you think I weakened it much in Suna?"

"I can't sense any more youki than usual," the Mokuton user answered.

"That's good to hear." There was a moment of silence. "Do you think I will have to use it again much?"

"What?"

"Would I have to use the Kyuubi's power a lot?" the blond clarified. "There's going to be a war. I know what I'm supposed to be – a human weapon. Would I have to use it in many battles?"

"Don't think of yourself that way," Tenzo chided.

"What?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"A weapon," the jounin answered. "You're human. Never forget it."

"You don't have to tell that to me," he pointed out. "But others don't see it that way. And an order is an order."

"That it is." He sighed deeply. "You shouldn't have been thrown into this so young. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Naruto consoled him. "I think I would have wanted to help with the war anyway."

"War is a nasty business," the former ANBU said.

"I can tell from what little I saw," the young ninja replied.

"You still have no idea how bad it really is."

"I guess so." He sighed. "So what are we going to do now?"

"The same as usual," Tenzo answered. "You need to get stronger to survive."

"Yes. And I should do it fast."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Inuzuka clan compound~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every since they came back from Suna, Kiba was giddy with excitement. The terrible occurrence during the banquet was pushed to the back of his mind. They tended to come out during the nights and haunt him in nightmares, but during the day there was no place for them. All that mattered was that he would be getting a new dog. He kept talking about it all the time until Tsume threatened to reconsider her earlier statement that he was finally mature enough. That managed to shut him up, but did nothing to tone down his elation. And then finally the big day came.

"So this is him?" The young Inuzuka boy was looking at the white puppy with drooping dark ears with mixed feelings.

"Yes, Kiba," Tsume confirmed, "this is Akamaru. Don't you like him?"

"I do," the boy answered, "he's cute, but isn't he kinda tiny?" Akamaru whined. He didn't consider himself 'cute.'

"And just what did you expect?" Hana commented. "A big bad wolf? The Haimaru were small as well when I first got them." The half-grown puppies barked in agreement. "Don't worry, Kiba, he'll grow up in no time."

"Can't I get three dogs like sister?"

Akamaru barked unhappily and bared his teeth.

"Sorry, boy," Kiba apologized. "I didn't mean that you aren't good enough."

The little white dog whined.

"I already apologized," the boy said. "What else do you want?"

"A treat, you dolt," Hana answered. "Honestly, Kiba, don't you know anything about dogs?"

"Of course," the youngest of the family took offense. "I'm an Inuzuka."

"Could have fooled me," his sister smirked.

"Cut it, you two," Tsume interrupted. "Introductions are over, it's time for training."

"There's still something I want to know," the boy asked. "Why is he called Akamaru?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the Hokage had first read the letter from the Tsuchikage, he had thought his eyes had finally started deceiving him in his old age. But nope, even after he had blinked several times the text stayed the same. The next possibility was that one of them finally got senile if he could think this was a perfectly legitimate demand. That couldn't be discarded, but he doubted Oonoki would still hold his position if that was the case. In the end, he had decided that that was just his attempt to make Iwa look like the injured party here, though in an extremely outrageous manner, and threw the letter into his trash bin after crumpling it into a ball. He had considered the matter closed, but somebody had a different plan. Sarutobi had already resolved to severely punish whoever had dug the paper out of the bin, smoothed it and showed it to every moderately important person in Konoha. And now every moderately important person in Konoha demanded audience with him, wanting to know what he was going to do about said ridiculous demand. He had to move the gathering to the Council chamber so everybody could fit in. It was crowded there anyway.

"So now that everybody's here," he began, "can we go down to business? And please speak only one at a time." He barely finished when four people spoke at once. Others soon followed.

"Silence!" He accentuated his order by hitting the table. He was mildly surprised when it actually worked. "Now we can really start, and please now really one at a time, or I won't lose my time with you anymore. In case you haven't noticed, we're at the verge of a war and I'm busy."

The assorted delegates exchanged glances, deciding, who should speak first. Unsurprisingly, it was Satoru who got the word.

"The war is what we came to talk about. An opportunity to prevent it arose. Why would you discard it?"

"Opportunity to prevent war?" Tsume snorted. She was there only because all the other clan heads were going. "Don't make me laugh. You weren't in Suna when it happened. If you were, you would know there's no way to avoid the war now. Too many important people died for that and the Daimyos are vying for blood."

"So give them blood of the one who started it," Satoru replied.

"That's easier said then done, Satoru-san," Sarutobi replied. "The problem is we don't know who had started the battle."

"How can you say that?" The furious councilman pointed to his copy of the Tsuchikage's letter. "It's crystal clear who's at fault."

"And that letter is the only proof you have?" The Sandaime raised an eyebrow. Satoru looked a bit taken aback, but he overcame it quickly.

"Yes," he confirmed.

"And do you know who wrote it?" Sarutobi questioned.

"The Tsuchikage, of course." The councilman had the vague sense that the Hokage was about to turn the tables on him, but for the life of him he couldn't fathom how the Professor intended to do it. Well, nobody ever accused Satoru of being a genius.

"And who is the Tsuchikage to us?" The Third questioned further.

"He's the leader of Iwagakure." The councilman was losing the ground under his feet and he didn't have a clue how it had happened.

"I probably didn't make myself clear," Sarutobi said. "I meant what is his relation to us."

"What do you mean?" Satoru was befuddled and many of the civilians along with him. The shrewd ones were catching on.

"I mean: Is he our friend or not?" the Third rephrased his question.

The answer was easy. In their history, Iwa and Konoha were almost constantly on each other's throats. Even Satoru knew it and therefore his answer was "No."

"Exactly." The Hokage smiled. "And tell me now, Satoru-san, is it wise to believe everything an enemy says?"

"No," he reluctantly admitted.

"Then why were you so ready to believe this?" The elderly village leader raised his eyebrow.

"Because it's that…" He didn't finish. Sarutobi's glare stopped him.

"It's what?" Sandaime asked quietly.

"Nothing," the councilman said. "Just forget it."

"I will for now," the old Kage agreed, but there was an unspoken threat in his voice. "Now is there anything else you wanted?"

"Even if this isn't true," Hyuuga Hiashi started, "can't we prevent the war that way anyway?"

"Unlikely," the Hokage answered.

"He's just trying to make us discard our strongest weapon," Danzo joined the conversation. It was one of the few times Sarutobi actually agreed with him.

"Precisely," he nodded. "This isn't a missive of peace, but an attempt to strike a blow to us before the fighting starts."

"We can't be sure of that," the Hyuuga clan head continued. He was remembering his brother. "Such move worked once before."

"It was a completely different situation," the Hokage pointed out. "Our strength was dwindled and we couldn't have afforded a war back then."

"Can we now?" the white-eyed man asked. "We suffered blows to our strength recently." Even if there was never any love lost between the Hyuuga and the Uchiha, Hiashi was now missing them dearly.

"The choice isn't ours," the Sandaime sighted. "The war already all but started."

"There is one more matter to address today," Kurama Unkai, the newly instated clan head stated. "We heard that That boy used Its power in great amount recently."

"It's true," Sarutobi confirmed. "He was fighting enemy jinchuuriki so it was entirely warranted."

"And what about the match with the Tsuchikage's grandson?" Unkai prodded.

"The power emerges whenever his life is in peril," the Professor explained. "In that particular instance, he was severely wounded."

"How can we be sure it won't happen again and without provocation?" the Kurama wanted to know. "And before you start defending his character, how can you be sure he has control over it? Such things cannot be controlled." His eyes gained a faraway look. He was remembering the horrendous end of his brother and his wife and the curse waiting within their only child.

"It doesn't really matter as long as it happens near enemy positions," Koharu interrupted.

"I guess you're right," Unkai admitted, "but I'm still worried."

"That's understandable," Homura added his two bits, "but think about how many enemy soldiers you wouldn't have to worry about with such power at our side."

"That's one way to look at it," the Kurama replied.

"Anyway," Sarutobi said, "is there anything else you wish to discuss?" Nobody spoke. "Well then, the meeting is concluded. And one last thing. Don't speak about the contents of the letter to anyone."

Little did the Hokage know that the damage was already done. Every Councilmember had already shown the message to their aides, families and friends and before the meeting ended, half of Konoha had heard about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sunagakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Watch it, sis, I'm finally ninja like you." Kankuro boasted his brand new shiny hitai-ate. "And I graduated younger than you! Take that."

"Idiot." She smacked him on the head.

"Aw, sis, what was that for?" The younger of the siblings whined rubbing the sore spot on his head.

"For being an idiot," Temari explained. "Do you really think they let you graduate for being so awesome?"

Kankuro's look answered that yes, he indeed did. Thankfully he had enough common sense not to say it aloud. His sister scowled anyway.

"In case you hadn't noticed yet," the fan wielder continued, "there's a war about to break out. We need to boost our shinobi ranks, even if it means letting simpletons like you graduate."

"Do you have to spoil every fun?" the young puppeteer pouted. "Of course I know there's going to be a war. But you can't seriously mean we'll get sent to the frontlines right off the bat. Anyway, who do you think I'm going to be teamed up with?"

She shrugged. "How would I know?"

Before anything else could be said, the door opened and Baki entered. They both were surprised at what Gaara's caretaker was doing there until they saw their youngest brother walking behind him. They both tensed. Even Temari, who had resolved to be nice to him, couldn't forget the sight of unleashed Shukaku during the Banquet Battle, as it was commonly known now.

"So you're both here. Good," Baki stated. Before they could answer, he continued. "Because of the recent additions to our ninja ranks, Kazekage-sama decided to reorganize the teams so that every one would have at least one experienced shinobi." The kunoichi got a sinking feeling about this. She would hardly call herself experienced, but she still had served longer that any of her brothers. "And because the three of you get along so well," here Kankuro snorted, "Kazekage-sama decided that you would be put on a team together."

"What?!" The middle one of the siblings yelped.

"Quiet," his sister hissed hitting him.

"You heard me. You three are now a team and I'm your new sensei. And because you're such a strong team," Baki added, "you wouldn't have to be bothered with low-rank missions." Kankuro perked up, Temari blanched.

"Does that mean," she started slowly, "that we'd get send right on the battlefield?" Now Kankuro paled as well.

"Not right now," their new sensei answered. "You'll be allowed to gain some experience on C- and B-ranked missions first."

"Somehow that didn't reassure me at all," the Wind user muttered.

"Don't be so down." Baki attempted a smile but failed. "You're strong. You'll get through it."

"I don't worry about this," the kunoichi corrected. "I'm more concerned about what comes afterwards."

"That," now Baki smiled for real, "is the mark of a good ninja." The compliment went utterly unappreciated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Training grounds~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo wasn't surprised to find his charge training. What interested him more was what Naruto was doing. There were multiple clones of the young blond standing around. That in itself wasn't strange, his charge used them in training quite often. Stranger was what they were doing. Some of them held leaves in their hands and were trying to set them afire. That wasn't strange either. Naruto had attempted to gain the Fire element before and it finally looked like he was getting close. What was really curious was the behavior of the other ones. They were staring at their hands, like they were trying to divine the future from them. The jounin had no idea what they were working on, but he could feel the chakra being discharged.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Working on something new," the boy answered.

"So I gathered," his caretaker replied. "But what is it supposed to be?"

"I haven't thought up a good name for it yet," the blond shrugged.

"What is it supposed to do?" the former ANBU rephrased his question.

"I got an idea in Suna," he explained. "I can make Wind blades, but they can cut only so deep. Eventually they are stopped because my hand is stopped." He looked at the jounin questioningly. Tenzo indicated he understood. Naruto continued. "So I thought about making something that wouldn't be stopped so easily. Something like a drill. It goes forward and it doesn't stop."

"I think I get it," Tenzo nodded slowly. "It even reminds me of something. But isn't that very hard?"

"Well," the demon vessel shrugged, "so far I had little success. But I will get it right, you'll see!"

"I don't doubt it," the man smiled.

"Anyway, you said it reminded you of something. Can you remember what? It might help."

"Sorry," he shook his head, "I can't remember."

"Too bad," the blond sighed. "Never mind, I'll figure it out anyway." He created a Shadow Clone and it ran away.

"Where did he go?" the jounin raised an eyebrow.

"To the library, duh." The child looked at him like it should be obvious to everybody.

"Of course. And before I forget, we've been called to the Hokage Tower."

"Why didn't you say it before?!" Naruto jumped and moved to run.

"Relax," Tenzo caught his arm. We have almost an hour before we have to be there." The boy quieted down a bit.

"What are we called for?" he wanted to know.

"Well," the man smiled enigmatically, "that's a secret."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Streets of Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ever since Naruto became genin, the hateful looks following him everywhere toned down a bit. But now they were back with vengeance. Naruto was taken aback and unconsciously stepped closer to Tenzo. He was trying to pretend he didn't see them, but it was hard. People were whispering, all around him. His sensitive ears picked snippets of their conversations, even when he wasn't trying.

"That's him. How dare he…" "…like he owned it here…" "…knew he was no good. It had to happen eventually." "…should have killed him when…" "…shame they allow him to walk around just like that. But it won't be long now."

What could have caused such reactions? Neither Naruto nor Tenzo knew, though it seemed they would find out soon. Two people stood in front of them, especially hateful sneers on their faces. Their white eyes marked them as Hyuuga and their covered foreheads meant they were from the Branch House. They looked alike, both tall and thirtyish, with long black hair, the most noticeable difference was that one was male and the other female (at least their clothes suggested that). The female spat on Naruto's feet as they were passing by. The blond wanted to simply ignore it, but Tenzo couldn't.

"What was that supposed to mean?" he barked at the perpetrator.

"You need to ask?" she shot back.

"How dare he just walk around like that?" her companion added.

"I don't know what your problem is," the jounin started, "but you'll step aside this moment. We were summoned before the Hokage. Do you want to be the reason we're late? I'm sure he would be very understanding that you felt the need to delay us and keep him waiting."

"Why didn't you say so?" the woman smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant smile. "We don't want you to be late. Especially if he'll finally do what he should have done a long time ago." The two Hyuuga disappeared in the crowd.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked.

"Probably the usual," Tenzo shrugged.

"I don't think so," the blond shook his head. "This was much worse."

"You're right," the man sighed. "Something got into them today. Hopefully they'd get over it soon."

"Yes. Let's hope they do." But he couldn't shake a feeling of foreboding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage Tower~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they reached the Tower, Naruto was only mildly surprised to meet both his teammates there. He smiled in greeting. The bad feelings from their journey there immediately disappearing.

"Hello. Do you know what are we here for?"

"No," Hotaru shook her head, "he wouldn't tell us."

"You're going to find out soon enough," their sensei assured them.

"It better be good," Hana grumbled. "I was in the middle of a torture... I mean training session with Kiba."

"Oh, it would be." Before the Wood user could say anything else, the Sandaime's secretary stuck her head into the room.

"Hokage-sama will see you now," she announced. They followed her into the office. Sarutobi was sitting behind the table, puffing his pipe.

"Thank you all for coming," the old man began. "There is usually a bigger ceremony, but everything is so busy lately, so we'll make it quick. You already know how you did in the Chuunin Exams, so now is the time to make it official. Congratulations, you are now chuunin of Konohagakure. Here are your vests." He reached under his desk and handed them three flak jackets.

Naruto's face broke into a huge grin. "Thank you, Old man, you're the best!"

"Whoever taught you manners, Tiny?" Hana scolded, but she was smiling as well.

"I'm glad to see you're all so happy, but we still have to clear some things out," Sarutobi interrupted their antics. "First here's the paperwork for your new rank."

Naruto muttered something under his breath. It sounded suspiciously like "You sure know how to spoil our fun."

"You have to fill it and hand it to the Shinobi Registration Office tomorrow," the Sandaime continued. "Next. Chuunin teams are usually organized differently than genin teams, but because you're still fresh, you'll stay together under the command of Tenzo for the time being."

"Great," Naruto smiled. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to be without his guardian.

"What's not so great is that as chuunin," the Hokage spoke, "you will take part in the war once it starts. I don't like sending freshly promoted chuunin out there, so you'll start as backup, but you'll be seeing the battlefield before you know it." He paused for a moment to let his words sink in. "If you don't have any questions, you are dismissed."

Since nobody had anything to say, they filed out of the office. Once outside, they immediately tried their new vests on.

"It clashes with my skirt," Hotaru complained. Really, the combination of khaki-green and dark purple wasn't overly appealing.

"Too bad for you," Hana smirked. She simply exchanged her leather jacked for the official chuunin one. It looked good on her. "It's just a bit too tight."

"Too tight? Try three sizes too big," Naruto grumbled. The girls looked at him and had to stifle giggles.

"Oh," Hotaru laughed, "you look like you might get lost in it."

"Yes," Hana agreed, "you'd fit into it two times."

"That's not funny," the boy scowled. "How am I supposed to fight if that thing keeps getting into my way?"

"You don't have to wear it all the time," the purple-haired girl reminded him. "Many chuunin and jounin don't."

"Then how would people tell I'm a chuunin?" the blond objected.

"That's true," Hana pointed out. "Most have trouble believing he could be a genin."

"He'll just have one custom-made," Tenzo interrupted.

"That would be great," the youngest of the group agreed. "Hey, do you think I should wear the official uniform too? You know, to look more official?"

"If you want to," the jounin shrugged.

"It's probably a wasted effort," Hana jibed. "You aren't going to look official no matter what you wear."

"Hey!"

"Cut it out, we should be going," Tenzo ordered.

They walked out of the tower, still admiring their new attires. On the front steps they paused. There was a crowd gathered in the square and they looked at them none too friendly. Both Naruto and Tenzo immediately recognized the two Hyuuga they had encountered earlier in the forefront. Thinking of it, there were quite a lot of Hyuuga in the crowd.

"Do you think we can get through?" Naruto whispered. He had to admit he was scared. Not even before Tenzo took him in he had to face a crowd that angry. The worst incidents were always with individuals, usually drunken ones. But here gathered hundreds of people and they all looked perfectly sober. What could have gotten into them? Then the female Hyuuga from earlier stepped forward and he got the sinking feeling he was about to find out soon and not going to like it a bit.

"You're still free?!" The woman screeched.

"And looks like they made him chuunin," her brother (probably) spat.

"And he walks around just like that," somebody from the crowd added. "Hey you! How dare you show your face here?!"

"And why shouldn't he?" Tenzo retorted. Naruto cringed. His experiences with mobs told him this wasn't a smart thing to say.

"Why?" the Hyuuga woman screeched. "Why he asks? You know why! It's all his fault!"

"What is?" Naruto asked. Somehow it didn't seem they were talking about the Kyuubi.

"Don't try to look innocent!" she spat. "We knew you were no good and now you finally proved it." They definitely weren't talking about the fox. But what else? Naruto couldn't recall doing anything that would warrant such a reaction.

"We let you live here and that's how you repay us? By trying to destroy us?" The blond wished he had a clue what was this all about.

"Whatever has gotten into you?!" Tenzo shouted.

"Like you don't know! That little bastard brought a war on us!"

"What?!" Naruto couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes! Why did you have to kill the Tsuchikage's son?"

"I didn't!" His exclamation was completely ignored by the angry gathering.

"Now he's going to wage war on us!"

"People will die because of you!"

"Unless we send you to him!"

"Yes! Kill him and send him to Iwa in pieces! That will save us!"

Somebody threw a stone. It went wide, but it was soon followed by others. Team Tenzo had a hard time to dodge them all. Some of the people throwing them had to be shinobi. The mob moved forward.

"Back to the tower," the jounin ordered. The three chuunin obeyed immediately. "Close the door," he shouted at the guards at the door. They were already moving. They didn't want to have an angry crowd inside.

"What's going on here?" Sarutobi's voice boomed through the entrance hall.

"That demon is running away," shouted somebody from the mob.

"Silence!" The Hokage looked furious. And because he underlined his words with a liberal dose of Killing Intent, the crowd actually obeyed. The Sandaime marched towards them, his robes bellowing behind him. For a moment, he truly looked like the God of Shinobi. The people in the first rows tried to back off, but they found they had nowhere to go. "What," the Third spoke in a dangerously low tone, "do you think you are doing?"

"Trying to stop a war," one of the bravest explained. Sarutobi inwardly groaned. He had known the outrageous request would mean trouble the moment he had first landed his eyes on it. He definitely had to find whoever had released it and send him on a lengthy vacation with Ibiki. Outwardly he gave no sign of what he was thinking. He only scowled deeper.

"And whatever makes you think that murdering a child would help?"

"He murdered the Tsuchikage's son!" The Professor replied by intensifying his Killing Intent. Many people in the crowd paled. Those on its outskirts were trying to get away stealthily. Good. Soon only the core would remain.

"And who told you that? I was there and saw everything. And he didn't do such thing."

"Hizashi did nothing as well," spat the Hyuuga Branch House woman. Ah. So that was the crux of the matter. "Why does He get to live when he didn't?" She sounded almost hysterical. Sarutobi frowned. This had to be handled carefully.

"The problem is," he began softly, "that there is no way to stop the war now. Do you know how many important people died during the battle at the banquet? The Daimyos are vying for blood and vengeance and they wouldn't stop until they have it. And unlike you, neither of them believes it is Naruto's fault. Our own Daimyo blames Iwa for the death of his favorite cousin. Even if you actually managed to appease the Tsuchikage, we would still have to go to war. And in war, we have to be united. Can't you see that your actions are aiding our enemies? Can't you see that you're doing precisely what the Tsuchikage wanted you to do: sow discord in our own ranks? Be ashamed of yourself!" The crowd thinned to barely a half before he finished his speech. It looked like the whole Hyuuga Branch House was there. They were glaring daggers, but they didn't dare to say anything in the face of the Hokage's wrath. Most of them also saw the truth in his words, though it did little to quell their anger.

"Now," Sarutobi spoke again, "go home. "And don't repeat this foolishness ever again." With those words he walked back into the tower and slammed the door behind him.

"They should leave soon," he addressed the shaken Team Tenzo. "Stay here until they do." Nobody even thought of disobeying.

"What was that all about?" asked the Mokuton wielder.

"And who is Hizashi?"

* * *

Next time: some characters people were asking about make an appearance.


	31. Preparations

**A.N.:** Another chapter here (finally). Thanks to all my readers and reviewers.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. That's it.**

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha Main Library~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto's clone had spent almost all afternoon researching. The library was open to all ninja and it contained various kinds of information. What it didn't have were jutsu scrolls. They were kept in better guarded locations for security reasons and whoever wanted to study them had to have clearance of the same level as the technique in question. The librarians could bar anyone from entering those if he seemed suspicious to them. Needless to say, they usually found Naruto a plenty suspicious character, so he often had to bring Tenzo with him, if he wanted to see them.

So what did he visit the library for? It was the books about techniques he was studying. Those books included the names, rank and general descriptions of jutsu without giving any instructions on performing them. And these were what Naruto was interested in. He looked for anything named Wind Drill, Chakra Drill or just Drill. There was nothing. After some consideration he studied techniques named Piercing anything, but neither Inuzuka's Piercing Fang, Demonic Illusion: Piercing Darkness or Raiton: Piercing Lightning sometimes used by Kumo ninja sounded remotely helpful.

He sat back and closed the book in dismay. Either the technique Tenzo spoke about wasn't here, or it had such a strange name he would never guess it. But he wasn't one to give up. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine how his finished technique should look like. He imagined his hand enveloped in a whirlwind of extremely sharp blades. Then he opened his eyes and looked up anything with Whirlwind in its name. This search yielded a couple of taijutsu moves and a Fuuton jutsu he had heard of before, but it wasn't what he needed. He then looked up Whirlpool, Eddy, Tornado, Hurricane, Whirl, Whirling, Maelstrom, Storm, Spin, Spinning and Spiral. His main discovery was that circular motion wasn't popular among jutsu creators. There was hardly anything. He was almost ready to call it a day when he finally hit gold. One book spoke of something that finally sounded useful.

_Rasengan_

_A-rank. N_

_Created by Yondaime Hokage. Uses concentrated ball of spinning chakra to drill through almost anything._

And that was all there was. Naruto's clone was sure he had found the technique Tenzo was talking about. But how to find out more about it? A-rank was high above his clearance. Tenzo, as a jounin, would be allowed to see it, but there was the letter N beside the rank. That meant the scroll was not available in the library. Probably because this might be one of those that were accessible only to a select few, like a clan or whoever the creator had deemed worthy. That is if the Yondaime didn't take it to his grave, which was also a possibility. He closed the book and looked for another mentions of the Rasengan. He was sure there must be something in the Life of the Yondaime, History of the Third Great Shinobi War or something like that. Maybe it would yield some more hints.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha Ninja Academy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The classroom was in its usual unruly state that occurred every time no teacher was present. It wasn't usual for Iruka-sensei to be late, but the whole class was taking advantage of his absence. In the front, Sakura, Ino, Ami, Fuki and Kasumi were fawning over Sasuke. The Last Uchiha was ignoring them with all his considerable might. Thanks to lots of practice he could now ignore fangirls with perfect professionalism. In the back Kiba was showing off his brand new puppy (I mean a ninja dog, never to be confused with a puppy, no matter that he's still young).

"This is Akamaru," he introduced the little white ball of fur to his friends.

"He's cute," Choji cooed. Akamaru barked. He was a big bad ninken of the big, bad Inuzuka clan. He didn't appreciate being called 'cute.'

"Hey, Shikamaru, what do you think?" The Nara genius didn't think anything. He was sleeping soundly. Kiba jabbed him with his elbow. The lazy boy opened one eye.

"Troublesome," he yawned. "What do you want now?"

"That's Akamaru," Kiba introduced his partner again.

"Troublesome. Hello," said Shikamaru and closed his eyes again. Akamaru barked happily. At least somebody was taking him seriously.

"Hey, Kiba," Choji said taking a bag of chips out of his bag. "Why do you call him 'Red'?"

"Why not?" The Inuzuka still had no idea either, but he would never admit it.

"Because he's white," the plump boy replied opening his bag of chips. Akamaru's nose twitched. Barbecue! He whined unhappily. Choji, seeing this, gave him a handful o chips, though it pained him greatly to sacrifice his favorite flavor. The puppy devoured them hastily.

"So what?" Kiba shrugged.

"Well, nothing." Choji ran out of arguments. He was never particularly good with them. He concentrated on eating his chips before Akamaru could stick his snout into the bag. The fluffy dog was trying valiantly.

Before anything else cloud happen, the door opened and Iruka walked in. He looked grim, but that might have something to do with their performance on the latest test. He was supposed to announce the results today.

The students quieted down, but not enough in their sensei's opinion.

"Silence," he commanded. Everybody stopped talking and returned to their seats, only Ino and Sakura had a brief shouting match over who would sit next to 'her Sasuke-kun.' Iruka stopped it by sending both of them to the other end of the classroom. Now the order was restored, he stood at the front of the classroom.

"Students, I have an important announcement to make today." His voice was grave and serious and many children wondered whether they really did so badly on the last test. "Shikamaru! Wake up!" he shouted. The lazy genius lifted his head from his arms and blinked owlishly. "Now everybody is awake, we can continue." Iruka's voice turned grave once more. "Some of you might have already heard of what happened during the last Chuunin Exams in Suna." Kiba paled. He knew what Iruka-sensei was going to say next. He had heard speculations before, but now it was going to become official.

"What's wrong, Kiba?" Choji asked.

"Weren't you there?" Shikamaru added.

"I was," he admitted. He didn't tell his classmates about what he had witnessed there. He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to even think about it. Remembering the feeling of the tainted power in the air made him shake every time. The only thing he described to his friends were the final matches.

"Quiet," Iruka chastised them. "This is really important so pay attention." They all straightened up, the perfect pictures of innocence. Iruka wasn't fooled, he knew them too well for that, but since they were all silent, he continued. "So because of the events that occurred there, we'll probably be soon at war with Iwa."

Now, there was it. There were startled and frightened gasps from all over the classroom. Even the usually stoic Sasuke blinked and Shino's bugs buzzed louder. Kiba only stared straight ahead. Shikamaru didn't miss it.

"You knew, didn't you?" Kiba nodded mutely.

"War?" "What?" "That's… that's…" "Troublesome," sounded from various parts of the classroom.

"Quiet down," Iruka ordered. They obeyed immediately. The Chuunin wished they could be so disciplined all the time and not only when faced with such a great danger. He let his eyes wander over them. They were only children. Frightened young children. He couldn't imagine them going to battle, not even his best students, but he knew they will have to. He had been too young to take part in the last war, but he had some idea what it was like. He didn't wish it on anyone.

"Because there is a war looming ahead, the Hokage decided to put the Academy on wartime regime." His words resounded ominously through the silent classroom.

"What does it mean?" Haruno Sakura. A clever girl, but too smitten with Uchiha Sasuke. He didn't give her high chances of survival.

"That means that the curriculum will be sped up and the graduation age lowered," he explained. "You were supposed to spend four years learning here, but in wartime it will be reduced to two. So that means by the end of the next school year you should be graduating."

"So soon?"

"Yes, Kouta, so soon," the chuunin confirmed. "To accomplish that, your taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu and thrown weapon training would be intensified. The tactics, strategy and stealth classes would remain as they are. The history lessons are cut down and the kunoichi training is cancelled entirely."

"What?!" Every girl in class shouted in unison.

"Yes, Ino," he turned to the loudest one. "Such skills aren't important in wartime."

"But aren't we supposed to be able to pretend to be civilian women?" The petite blonde turned her wide blue eyes on him. It usually made people do whatever she wanted, but it would have little to no effect on an enemy.

"Such skill is meaningless on the battlefield, miss Yamanaka," he informed her. "Or do you intend to kill your opponent by your superior flower-arranging skills? Though I suppose you might be able to do so with your cooking." The prankster in him sometimes needed out. Nobody laughed.

"I bet it would be no problem for Sasuke-kun!" Sakura again. It was just a matter of time when somebody would say that.

"Yes, he'll do it, no problem," Ami agreed.

"He's a genius after all," Ino added. She must have been really distracted to react so late. Soon other members of the fanclub voiced their opinions, while Sasuke didn't give any outward sign he heard them at all. Were they really so shallow or were they striving for a sense of normalcy in the face of upcoming disaster? Iruka didn't know. He wasn't sure he wanted to.

"Quiet down!" he shouted using his Big Head no Jutsu. The class obeyed immediately. "The situation is grave so there is no time for your childish squabbles." He reached into a folder and withdrew a stack of papers. "These are your new schedules. They become effective starting today. Pass them along and I'll answer any questions you might have concerning them."

Sasuke studied his sheet with interest. More training. Good. More power for him. And a war promised a lot of opportunities to test himself against worthy opponents. He'll become strong in no time. And then… 'Watch out, Itachi, I'll be coming for you. Just don't get yourself killed before I can get you.'

Hinata studied her new curriculum with a sense o impeding doom. She was already weak and useless and it will become even more apparent with the new more intensive training. She couldn't imagine herself going to war. She was going to get killed in the first battle. She'd probably get even her teammates killed. She wondered whether anybody would miss her. She didn't think her father would be such a person. He already had Hanabi and though her younger sister was barely more than a toddler, everybody agreed she showed more promise than Hinata ever did. The Hyuuga heiress sighed. She wished she weren't such a pathetic failure. No matter how hard she tried, she could never become strong. No matter what she did, it was never enough. Maybe she wouldn't be able to graduate at all and will stay in Konoha, as a Branch House member. She shuddered. She really didn't want that. She will try her hardest to graduate. If only because death in battle didn't sound as bad as an activated Caged Bird Seal.

Shino considered the new timetable with outward indifference. Only the buzzing of his Kikaichu betrayed what he was really feeling. His clan prided themselves on their calm and logical approach to anything, but he was finding it impossible to do so now. Logic was telling him that he wasn't good enough to fight in the war. Most, if not all, his classmates weren't. Logic concluded that they would be dead soon after graduation. And even if the Aburame wasn't particularly close to any of them, he didn't want their deaths. He didn't want to die as well. He was scared and that wasn't becoming of a shinobi. He stared blankly ahead and tried to calm himself. He'll need his composure if he wanted to survive. And he wished he didn't have to be calm and logical and could run screaming.

'Troublesome,' was on the forefront of Shikamaru's mind. He had always wanted to be average, but it looked like it wasn't an option anymore. Average shinobi had the average life expectancy on battlefield uncomfortably low. He was too lazy to look up a statistic, but he sure wanted to live longer than that. That meant he'd have to train and become good enough to survive. But not too good or he'll get sent to the worst battles. He'd have to make sure nobody had any idea how good he really was. Troublesome.

Choji was munching on his chips faster than ever. It was his nervous habit and he had a lot of reasons for anxiety now. He was sure his friend Shikamaru would be alright, he was smart and all, but what about him? He was strong, but that was about it. He even couldn't use the Multisize technique yet. If he had to go and fight now…

"That sucks for you," Shinta whispered into his ear. "You're too slow to dodge anything." Choji scowled. He disliked Shinta. The boy was picking on him all the time, making fun of his pleasantly plump body. But he didn't really hate him. He was even a bit thankful to him. His taunts were part of the reason Shikamaru became his friend.

"Leave him alone," Kiba growled.

"Shouldn't you be worried about yourself?" Shikamaru added.

"Why do you defend him?" Tobio, Shinta's friend, asked. "He'll only drag everybody down."

"Though you really can't be dragged any lower," Shinta added.

"You two are too troublesome to bother answering," the Nara decided turning back. "Don't mind them, Choji. They aren't worth getting worked up over."

"I only hope we won't end up on the same team with either of you," Shinta scoffed.

"Likewise," Shikamaru muttered before falling asleep.

Sakura was scared. She was the smartest girl in the class and she knew it, but her taijutsu wasn't anything special and she knew it as well. And being as smart as she was, she could make a fair guess about her chances of survival. What she came up with wasn't pretty. She desperately needed some comfort, but she had no friends in the class. She had broken up with Ino over their developing rivalry over Sasuke. She looked at her former friend turned rival desperately, searching her face for any sign they might become friends again.

Ino felt unsure of herself. She was one of the better kunoichi in class, but she had also heard loads of war stories form her father and his teammates, whenever they came to visit. She was confident of her ability to hit anything with a shuriken, but that wasn't enough. She barely started learning her clan's secret techniques and she could tell it would be a long time before she became proficient with them. She felt herself rapidly falling into depression and that just wouldn't do. She needed a confidence boost now and she spotted the perfect target.

"Hey, Billboard Brow!" She shouted. "Aren't you afraid your humongous forehead makes a perfect target?"

"No-one can miss that," Ami added. She had resumed her old habit of bullying Sakura as soon as the Yamanaka heiress had stopped protecting her. Her lackeys Fuki and Kasumi nodded in agreement and sneered viciously.

Sakura was crestfallen. So Ino didn't want to rekindle their old friendship. _'Show her up!'_ Inner Sakura shouted.

"And what about you, Ino-pig?" she retorted looking perfectly self-confident, despite feeling the complete opposite. "You should be careful or somebody would mistake you for an actual pig and eat you for dinner!"

"Watch it, Forehead-girl!" Ino snarled.

"Quiet!" Iruka halted their fight. "I said you might ask me questions, not argue among yourselves. In case you've forgotten, you are all on the same side here. All of you are shinobi of Konohagakure. You are expected to be comrades, to watch each others' backs. Fighting among yourselves won't be tolerated. Understood?" Only silence responded. "Good. So now, if nobody has a question, we'll study the theory of multi-layered traps."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha T&I headquarters~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morino Ibiki rubbed his temples tiredly. He had recently ascended to the position of the head of his unit and was already marveling at how his predecessor had been able to deal with the workload. It was true that such cases didn't happen every day. If they did, the scarred tokubetsu jounin would hand in his resignation on the spot.

This was the problem at hand: Discover, who had leaked the contents of the Tsuchikage's letter to the general populace. It had seemed easy at first, but was slowly proving itself more and more complicated. They had already interrogated all the staff that had access to the Hokage's trash bin and they determined that neither of them had taken the letter out. Not that they trusted them so, but a thorough search of said bin revealed that the letter was still there. And if it was still there, how did it get into the hands of so many people?

The only logical answer was that there were two copies of the accursed demand. And if there were indeed two, where did the other one come from? The experts were already working on them and as far as they could tell, both the papers were really from Iwa, written by the Tsuchikage and stamped with his official seal. It indicated that he meant for the missive to come out to general public, which, Ibiki had to admit, was a clever move. But the question of how the other letter got to the important people remained unanswered.

The only way to resolve it was to ask the Councilmen and Clan Heads who had shown them the thrice-accursed piece of paper. It was something Ibiki really didn't want to do, but had no choice about. He dearly wished he could delegate it to his subordinates, but all the self-important politicians would refuse to speak with mere underlings. To make them talk, the boss had to come himself. The chief interrogator wished he could take his former boss and mentor to help, but Inoichi wasn't officially part of the squad anymore and he didn't have the necessary clearance. The Yamanaka could only offer him his moral support and condolences now. Ibiki sighed. It wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat ever again. He took a sip of tea and went over his notes on who told him what.

On first glance, his current findings didn't look too encouraging. Every single esteemed councilmember claimed he was informed about it by another esteemed councilmember. So far everything seemed perfectly legal. It only meant that somebody was lying, refusing to tell on his real source of information. Even his extensive knowledge of human minds couldn't discern who it was. The tokubetsu jounin wished he could just drag them in for more serious interrogation, but they were influential people and unfortunately being an arrogant ass wasn't a punishable offense. He had to make do with another means. He wrote down all the names of the Councilors and started drawing arrows between them, trying to track the progression of the letter among the populace.

Due to the sheer number of names involved the result looked chaotic, but Ibiki's trained mind traced the arrows without any difficulty. It should have been easy to find the person no arrow pointed to, but the problem was there wasn't any. Instead all the arrows originated from a circle of five people, who insisted they got the message from each other. At least one of them was most certainly lying. It didn't say which, but at least it narrowed the search down considerably.

Ibiki wasn't surprised at all when one of the suspects turned out to be Satoru, but he didn't think he was the culprit. The man wasn't cunning enough for something like this, unless he was the best actor he had ever encountered. No, the guilty party was only using him as a scapegoat, hiding in the shadows all the time. There was nothing to implicate them, but at least he had now an idea where to look for them. It would take weeks or maybe months of careful surveillance, but he would determine who had received the message from the Tsuchikage. He would find out who was secretly in the employ of Iwa. Because if there was one thing Ibiki really hated, it was traitors.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Training grounds~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was training again. With the war looming on the horizon (or more likely much closer), it was important for him to get as good as he could in as little time as he could. He had read an unbelievable load of books looking for mentions of the Rasengan and was now fairly sure he knew as much as he could know about it without actually knowing how to perform it. He came to conclusion that it wasn't quite what he had in mind for his new technique. Sure it was powerful, but it didn't work the way he wanted his new jutsu to work.

For one thing it didn't use elemental recomposition, at least from what he gathered. He wanted a Wind technique. It was also very chakra intensive, which wasn't that much of a problem for Naruto, but he still wanted something he could use repeatedly. It also was held in the palm of the hand. He wanted something that would envelope his whole hand and maybe even forearm. The ability to drill through anything sounded cool, but it was a bit of an overkill. He didn't need to shred his opponent's arm to molecules, he only needed to inflict damage serious enough to make sure they wouldn't be using the appendage again. The high concentration of chakra was something he filed for later consideration.

So he found himself on the training grounds again. Making Wind Blades presented no problem for him anymore, but he couldn't get them to spin properly. They tended to disintegrate whenever he attempted to do so. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. What was he doing wrong? Not enough chakra control? For him, it was the most likely reason. But what could help? He had already mastered everything Tenzo taught him. There was always the possibility of looking something up in the library, but Naruto never liked that and he had already spent an unholy amount of time there recently. That left only making something up. But what would help him with the circular motion? Well, moving something in a circle, obviously. But what? The Leaf-floating exercise was asking for it. What else? Maybe the Water-walking. He could stick his hand into the pond and make the water flow in circles around it. That sounded good. He divided his clones into two groups and set them on the task.

"Training again?" a familiar voice asked.

"As you can see, Hotaru," the blond answered.

"So what are you working on?" the purple-haired girl asked. "And do I even want to know?" The girl had changed her attire since she made chuunin. She originally didn't want to wear the flak jacket, claiming it wasn't fashionable, but Yuugao quickly convinced her that in battle there's no place for fashion and the armored vest may someday save her life. So the younger Uzuki relented and started wearing the green garment dutifully. She only changed her purple skirt for a black one, because black goes with everything. That didn't prevent her from occasionally complaining that the vest clashed with her hair.

"Developing a new technique," Naruto answered. "It is going to be awesome," he boasted. "That's it," he added in a subdued tone, "if I can complete it."

"Why so down?" Hotaru asked. "This isn't like you."

"It's nothing," the boy replied, but the kunoichi could tell he wasn't sincere.

"You know, Naruto, I think you should practice your lying as well," she commented. "This was a lousy one."

"You're right," he sighed.

"So what's the problem?" she prodded when the jinchuuriki offered no further explanation. "Or is it secret?"

"No," he shook his head, "but I don't want to talk about it. Now, was there a reason you came?"

"Oh, yes!" She slapped her forehead. "I almost forgot! There are briefings on wartime procedures for every chuunin who never were at war before. We are required to come."

"When?"

"Now."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" He jumped to his feet. "You continue your training," he commanded his clones and ran out of the training grounds. Hotaru followed him.

They slowed down when they reached the residential area. The young kunoichi noticed her teammate's shoulders sagging, his head drooping, his eyes fixed on the ground. 'Something is seriously wrong,' she thought. It didn't take her long to discern what. All around them were people glaring, pointing at him, whispering hateful words. It was almost like before the crowd had tried to lynch him.

"So this is what has you so down?" she whispered. He nodded mutely. "Don't let them get to you, they're stupid." Naruto didn't answer. Hotaru frowned. "Don't tell me you actually believe them." The only response was his shoulders sagging further. "Don't be stupid. That would be sinking to their level." The corner of Naruto's mouth twitched in a humorless smile.

"Don't you suggest we're beneath the demon, slut!" a civilian woman shouted. Hotaru glared at her.

"Leave it alone," Naruto said.

"I can't," she answered. "If you won't defend yourself than I would."

"Don't get into trouble for me. I can handle it."

"Yeah! Don't side with the demon!" This time it was a child who spoke. Hotaru looked at him in surprise. Naruto only smirked.

"You see, somebody talked."

"Isn't that forbidden?" the purple-haired kunoichi frowned.

"It is," the blond confirmed, "but do you want to execute half of Konoha?"

"That bad?" her eyes widened.

"Yes," he nodded. "And come now. We have a briefing to attend."

* * *

That's the end for now.

Next time: War begins. (at last).

And because this chapter was a bit shorter, here comes a little bonus.

**A comprehensive guide to Suna clans** (my creations)

**Kineko clan: **The proud clan of panther-users from the Village Hidden in the Sand. They breed their giant cats and use them in battle similarly to the Inuzuka clan, their old rivals. Those two clans regularly accuse each other of stealing/copying their techniques. They are fierce in battle and good trackers. They assimilated a lot of their companions' feline nature. They can be distinguished by black fang-like markings on their cheeks resembling the Inuzukas.

Family techniques: Beast/man imitation, Sphinx, Great Sphinx

Known members: Kineko Akira

**Shinkudai clan:** A clan of melee battle specialists. They are tall and well-muscled, their family trait is great strength. They use it to wield huge weapons in combat. Their distinguishing mark is samurai-style armor in rust color.

No family techniques are known at this point.

Known members: Shinkudai Toshiro

**Aoyume clan:** This is a small clan from the Hidden Sand. They have a Kekkei Genkai allowing them to manipulate other people's emotions using their voice. This gift is usually weak and used to supplement genjutsu most of Aoyume clansmen specialize in. Aoyume Daiki has the strongest ability in generations and is the hope of his clan.

Family techniques are revolving around genjutsu.

Known members: Aoyume Daiki

**Museitabi clan:** A clan of poison users. They breed scorpions to gain stronger poisons. They cannot command those animals in battle. Most of them learn puppetry to utilize the poison, some women become seduction specialists. Clan member Teono carries the scorpions in the wide sleeves of her kimono and uses them like puppets. Women of this clan tend to be weird.

Family techniques are about puppetry and poison.

Known members: Museitabi Teono, Museitabi Asami


	32. The war begins

**A.N.:** Because everybody asked so nicely, here comes another chapter. The next one is still in writing and because I'm a bit stuck now, I can't tell how fast the updating would be. So read and enjoy!

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Amegakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The word traveled fast through the Elemental Nations. Soon everybody knew what had occurred in Suna. Sure, nobody knew exactly what had happened, though many people 'knew' and made no secret of it. But no matter the quality of information a person received, there was one thing they were all certain about: There was going to be a war. And Hidden Rain was going to be caught in the middle, as usual. Hanzo Salamander was cursing the unfortunate geographical location of his country. With borders shared with three of the major shinobi nations, namely Wind, Earth and Fire, and some minor, like Grass, Bird and River, whenever those three so-called great ones decided to clash it inevitably happened in their territory.

And war was going to happen, that much he knew. Sure, the nations would play at diplomacy for a while, pestering each other with outrageous requests, but that was just a front to make it look like it was someone else's fault and also to give them time to mobilize. This latest mess caught everybody unprepared.

The old village leader smashed his fist into the table and watched the desk shatter with small satisfaction. This war couldn't have come at a worse time. Not too long after the Third Great Shinobi War had ended, a civil war broke out in their country. He didn't know who lead the other party and he had punished many of his spies for their inadequacy. The only thing he knew for sure was that they claimed to want peace. Fools the lot of them. They were the ones who had started the war first place. He knew that many people didn't want his rule, but he was doing what was the best for Ame. He didn't want to see rampaging armies running amok through his country ever again. He had enough of it to last him for several lifetimes. He did his best to prevent it and that was to make Ame strong enough that the Great Five would rather pick another battlefield. People complained that he impoverished them with his taxes and high military costs, but did they already forget that war was far worse? Couldn't they see he was trying to protect them? Apparently not.

He ran a hand through his long white hair. He had to find a way out of this mess, but sadly nothing came to him. The only thing that was obvious was that he couldn't afford to wage war at two fronts. He wished he could just deal with the rebels swiftly, but they were hidden well. Well, it wasn't like he had a choice. He sat down to the spare desk in his room and started writing out orders. Send more scouts, deploy more troops, maybe raise the bounties for every rebel's head? Nah, their treasury was already almost empty. If he was religious, he would have prayed. But life had gotten such tendencies out of him a long time ago.

He finished and stood up to hand the scrolls to his assistant. Then something made him pause. The silhouette of the jounin on guard around his office seemed different than before. Was the guard changing already over? He checked the clock. Nope, there still was almost an hour to go. So what then? His paranoia flared up. Could it be another assassination attempt by the rebels? They had tried it enough times to know it was futile.

He sighed and silently created a Water Clone. He let it open the screen separating his office from the rest of the world while he himself hit behind the table. It proved to be a wise decision. The clone was destroyed by no less than four kunai with explosive tags the moment it stepped out of the room. Hanzo swore under his breath. There was water everywhere. The ink on his painfully done paperwork was dissolving in it and making blue splotches all over it. Didn't they have any consideration for hard effort? He'll have to work for a week overtime to catch up with the bureaucracy. The assassins would be coming down in an especially painful manner.

They didn't wait for him to counterattack. Before he could think of the most painful way to send them off to the next world, the ceiling above him crumbled, sending huge pieces of rubble falling onto him. 'So they're good,' he thought. 'Well, they had to be to dispose of my guards silently. All the better, I didn't have a really enjoyable fight in ages.' He didn't even have to think about what he was doing. He created a shield above himself and at the same time sent a Bunshin jumping out of his hiding place, acting like he was trying to escape from the downpour of rocks. Quite predictably it was hit with a hail of senbon the moment it appeared. This alerted Hanzo to one of his opponents' positions. He threw a handful of kunai with explosive tags at him. There was no more need to be worrying about the documents lying in his office, they were ruined anyway.

The man, wearing a scratched Rain hitai-ate, like all the rebels did, jumped out of the way, exactly as the legendary ninja expected him to. Another set of Explosive Tags was already in the air, and those were his special secret design. They could move on their own and they homed in on humans. The little tags of paper stuck to the assassin's legs and refused to get off. Hanzo had no time to watch as they ignited. The man's companions were upon him in an instant.

The Doton user who had brought the ceiling down on him used another jutsu to make spikes rise from the ground. The old shinobi pulled a quick Kawarimi with one of his bookcases. Too bad for him that one of his attackers had expected this. He noticed a violent wave of water rushing towards him as soon as he materialized. But he didn't get to be an old shinobi without being really good. He was already moving before he could finish his thoughts. He jumped back, his hands flashing through seals. A wall of earth materialized between him and the attack, stopping the approaching wave harmlessly.

His ears caught the sound of an explosion. It sounded like his first opponent was out of the game. The quiet swish of air being cut with a blade was nearly drowned in the crash. But Hanzo had survived countless battles by being able to pick up such little clues and act accordingly. He pivoted on his heel faster than most of the ninja were capable of, with a few exceptions. He blocked the approaching sword with his forearm guard. He never went anywhere without his full armor lately and his precautions were paying off. The swordsman had barely enough time to blink in surprise when Hanzo's fist shot forward. The assassin was very good that he managed to raise his arm to his defense. Hanzo's armored fist only ripped through his sleeve and broke one of his bones. The old village leader didn't give his opponent a fraction of a second to recover and pressed on his attack. His right foot shot forward. The assassin jumped back to avoid it, but the kick was only a feint. A small pulse of chakra activated the senbon launcher in the sole. The poisoned needles embedded themselves in the attacker's thigh. It would be only a matter of time before he was completely paralyzed.

Hanzo didn't let his guard down. He could name dozens of shinobi for whom it was the last thing they ever did. He threw a kunai at his opponent. The man still had enough strength left to parry. Then a small rumble warned the white-haired ninja of somebody approaching. He leapt away, whirling around while still in the air, but he couldn't see anybody. Then he noticed a piece of rubble move. 'Meisai Gakure no Jutsu,' he recognized. 'That's Iwa's technique, and a highly treasured one. Are they from there?'

He filed the question for later. Idle musings during a fight were a sure way into an early grave. He threw another shower of kunai, forcing the masked assassin to reveal himself. A resounding clank made him know where a kunai was blocked. A series of handseals was already finished by the time. He spat a jet of water, the stream forming into the shape of a serpent. It impacted with the masked shinobi head on. The man was sent crashing into the nearest wall.

He was only mildly surprised when he noticed three kunai with Explosive Tags flying towards him. So the swordsman wasn't down from the poison yet. He'll have to finish him off later. He switched with another bookcase. The kunai slammed into it, the activated tags blowing it into smithereens. The shockwave from the explosion finally sent the poisoned man to unconsciousness he wouldn't be waking from. It should be only two or three of them now. Piece of cake for Hanzo.

This particular cake proved itself a bit hard to chew when the ground below him changed into a pair of giant hands trying to squash him. He jumped from the spot before they could do so. 'Another Iwa jutsu. It seems they indeed are from there. Does old Oonoki really think he can get rid of me so easily? He should have come himself to do so.'

He noticed a hail of kunai flying at him while he was still midair. He had no way of dodging. He quickly spat a stream of water, deflecting the deadly projectiles. He noticed the ground he was sailing to turning into mud. The office's floor was concrete. 'Crap, this is getting nasty.' He bit his hand and formed five seals. A salamander materialized under him, small enough to fit into the room, big enough to swallow a man whole.

"Get him, Kanetsu," he commanded. The summon didn't need to be told twice. His tongue shot out of his mouth, tasting the air, searching for his masked target. He located him within a second. A jet of flame flew out of its mouth, hitting the man dead on. He barely had the time to scream before the superheated flames of the Salamander clan cooked him alive.

His partner didn't seem a bit bothered by his teammate's gruesome fate. He used another Earth jutsu to try and dispel the summoned creature. He didn't get enough time to finish his handseals. The salamander's tongue shot out once more, hitting him square in the chest. The tongue stuck to him like glue, bringing him into the animal's mouth. One gulp and it was over for him.

For Hanzo, it still wasn't time to relax. His finely-honed senses told him there was still one more opponent. Kanetsu slowly turned his head. 'So there,' Hanzo thought. He still couldn't see anything. It didn't surprise him anymore, he already knew his enemy knew the Meisai Gakure. The soft flickering of Kanetsu's tongue let him know where exactly the man was. He launched two kunai at him and was rewarded with a hiss of pain when one of them found its mark. The assassin lost his concentration and became visible again.

"Restrain him," he commanded his summon. Kanetsu obliged and soon the man found himself bound with his elastic tongue. Hanzo watched the man carefully. It was the same one he had flung into the wall with his Water serpent. How he was still moving after such hit was a mystery, but the aged village leader could tell he wouldn't be able to do so for much longer. Even now the man was bleeding profoundly.

"Who sent you here?" he asked. No answer. Not that he expected one, but it never hurt to be polite. The man only stared at him with blank face. It was strange considering how much pain he had to be in. The man must have an extraordinary discipline. Hanzo ever saw such in very few shinobi.

"Answer or the pain you're feeling now would be nothing compared to what I'll put you through." Once again, no reaction. The man only struggled some more. Then his body suddenly arched and after a moment he went limp. Hanzo sighed. He really wished to know who had sent them. They didn't seem like the regular run-of-the-mill rebels, but he wasn't entire convinced they were Iwa ninja either. Everything sure pointed that way, though not too obviously, but Hanzo was an old ninja and he didn't take anything at face value anymore. He started looking through the dead assassins' possessions. So far everything he found belonged to either Ame or Iwa. He was almost convinced that they were indeed Rock shinobi, when he noticed something about the swordsman he poisoned. His torn sleeve revealed a fresh cut and an old scar. A curved scar located between two prominent freckles. He realized where he had seen it before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It happened during the last year of the Second Great Shinobi War. The warring parties were already exhausted and they would be seeking truce soon. Now was the time when the outcome would be decided. The efforts of years of struggle could be nullified by one word from a diplomat, by a few brushstrokes on paper. It was a difficult time, but also a time of great opportunity. And Hanzo was determined to take it.

There was a small group of shinobi within his country, who were trying to gain peace. It sounded like a nice idea to Hanzo. If he was the one to lead the negotiations that would end the war, it would bring prestige and honor to him and his country. It was risky and prone to fail, but it was the best prospect he had. But he wasn't known as a negotiator or a peace activist, and he most likely wouldn't be believed if he called in for a peace conference. Everybody would think it was a trap. The initiative had to come from a more credible source, so he decided to bring the group in to help. It would be better to have them on his side than against him after all. Amegakure didn't need any more enemies then it already had.

But almost as soon as he sent out the first message, he was approached with another prospect. Shimura Danzo of Konoha had offered him alliance for some services that would help Danzo. He read the message over and over. If it was true, it would secure the position of him and his country and it wouldn't put him in as much jeopardy as trying to settle it peacefully would. With a strong ally at their side, they would be with the winners and Ame would become a force to be reckoned with. But in this plan, there was no more place for the peace activists. Their movement would hinder his new plan and what would be worse, it would undermine his authority. 'Sorry, kiddies, you'll have to go.'

The plan was simple enough. He and his forces alongside with some of Danzo's would ambush the peace group where they were supposed to meet for negotiation. They would wipe them out with their superior numbers and skills and they would be done with it. Then they would proceed to strengthen their positions, mutually helping each other.

For a while it seemed it would work out. They had successfully surrounded the much smaller group of children and he had taken a blue-haired kunoichi friend of their leader hostage. They even convinced the leader, Yahiko, to commit suicide. How that fool ever believed he would let his girlfriend go he never understood. Well, idealists and their naïveté. Though, in hindsight, maybe he had been the naïve one.

Then Danzo gave an order to slaughter them all. What happened next still haunted him in his nightmares. The red-haired one had glared at him with Rinnegan eyes, something that wasn't supposed to exist outside of legends. Then he had summoned… something, he had no better name for it. A spectral serpent had come out of Its mouth and whoever It touched had dropped dead. He had lost nearly two dozens of his best jounin that day. It was a sore blow to Amegakure's strength. He himself had saved his life only through a quick escape. He wasted no time in searching out Danzo.

The one-eyed ANBU commander was running at top speed away from the disaster scene. And disaster it was for all parties involved. Hanzo quickly caught up with him. One of the two guards protecting him moved to intercept him. The Salamander batted his arm away. With a kunai. He was in no mood for pleasantries. Blood spewed from the man's arm, but he paid no heed to it. He and his partner moved to attack him again.

"Stop," Danzo commanded.

"Well, what have you to say for yourself?" Hanzo growled.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Danzo retorted.

"What do you mean? This was your plan!"

"And you provided the intel," the ROOT commander pointed out calmly. "Why didn't you report their power?"

'Because I had no idea,' Hanzo thought, but refrained from saying it aloud. "Why did you insist on killing them all after their leader was dead? They would be harmless without him."

"It's unwise to leave an enemy alive," Danzo growled.

"It's unwise to make needless enemies," he shot back.

"Our world is full of enemies. You should know that." The warhawk sounded like he was lecturing a stupid child. Hanzo didn't take such tone from anyone.

"Of course I do," he spat. "But for you, there is nothing but enemies. You know what, Danzo? Our deal is off. I don't want you to drag me into another disaster like this."

"You're making a mistake." His voice didn't even sound threatening when he said that, he was merely stating a fact.

"Whatever," the white-haired man shrugged. "And now get out of my territory before I change my mind."

Before the Konoha trio left, he got one good look at the arm he had cut earlier.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was now looking at exactly the same arm, only the fresh wound had turned into a faded scar. There was no doubt, this was the same man that had been with Danzo on That Day, as he privately called it. If he didn't notice it, there would be no way for him to tell the men weren't from Iwa. 'So you wanted me to think the Tsuchikage wanted to get rid of me? You wanted me to side with you again? Like anything good ever came out of that.' He smiled grimly. 'No, you old coot, no more. I'll teach you to mess with Sanshouuo no Hanzo!'

Three days later Ame signed a treaty with Iwa. Soon after that the war began in earnest.

The first shinobi of Konoha to notice it was a team patrolling the border of Ame. They were doing their routine runs, still fresh after leaving the base, supposed to spend another four days in the perpetually rainy climate near the Rain Country. When they noticed the movement in the bamboo forest, they made the mistake of going to investigate. When they realized they encountered a superior force of Iwa ninja, they were already surrounded. They put up a valiant fight, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. None of them escaped.

The base near the border didn't get an advance warning. The Rock Ninja swarmed them like angry wasps. They managed to repel the first attack and send a message to Konoha, but eventually they were overpowered. Before the Iwa forces could push any further, reinforcements from Konoha arrived and stopped them. The frontlines were established.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near the frontlines~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Because they were a newly promoted team of chuunin, they weren't sent to the battlefield right off the bat. They were even on the mission together with Tenzo-sensei. Their objective was simple: escort a convoy of provisions to a border fortress. Because of the importance of the delivery, there was another team of chuunin consisting of Hagane Kotetsu, Kamizuki Izumo and Akame Iwana with them. Their commander was the tokubetsu jounin Mitarashi Anko.

Naruto was glad they were going on a mission with her. She was always fun to be with, though often in a creepy way, and since the war broke out she didn't show up as often as she used to do. Two of her subordinates, Izumo and Kotetsu, were good company as well. The third not so. His single eye was piercing Naruto with a particularly unfriendly glare. The blond was used to it, more so after the Tsuchikage's letter, but he usually didn't have to stand one particular hateful person for so long. The tension this caused within their group was getting at everybody's nerves. In the end, Hana was the first one who decided to break it. They were currently traveling through an agricultural region, rice fields lining the road on both sides, no place to set an ambush anywhere in sight. It was a good area for a conversation.

"Hey, Iwana, what is your problem?"

"What do you mean?" the one-eyed chuunin retorted.

"Why do you keep scowling at my teammate like that?" she clarified.

"And why shouldn't I?" he shot back.

"It's getting on my nerves," she explained.

"And he is getting on mine," Iwana growled. "I can't stand to see him walking around like nothing happened!"

"And I can't stand to see you insult my teammate," the Inuzuka growled back. The Haimaru triplets growled with her.

"Leave it alone," Naruto said.

"I can't," the dog mistress refused. "No matter what you still think, the war isn't your fault."

"Yes," the boy sighed, "you keep saying that."

"And we'll keep repeating it until you get it," Hotaru added.

"Say whatever you want, it's still that brat's fault," Iwana refused to change his opinion.

"And you better not say anything," Tenzo interjected. "You're only disrupting our teamwork. Surely you don't want to be accused on sowing discord within the unit. Do you know what the penalty for doing it during wartime is?"

The one-eyed man gulped. He knew it very well.

"Or you might keep talking if you want," Anko added. "I'd actually prefer if you did. I haven't killed anybody in… eight days? My my, the time is running by so fast."

"Whole unit of freaks," Iwana muttered.

"What was that?" the Snake Mistress asked all too sweetly.

"Nothing." He put on his best innocent face.

"I thought as much," she nodded. "Little chuunin like you shouldn't use such words around their betters." Iwana shot her a dirty glare, but said nothing.

"Don't be so harsh at him," Izumo said. "He's probably just jealous that you're all so famous while he is not."

"That sounds right," Kotetsu nodded. "Everybody heard about Anko and Naruto, but who ever heard of some Akame Iwana?"

"I certainly didn't," the younger chuunin with bandanna replied. "But Naruto, he will get far. So young and he already writes history."

"That's quite a feat," his spiky-haired friend agreed. "What were we doing at his age?"

"Flunking the Academy?" Izumo offered.

"No," Kotetsu shook his head, "that was a year later. Wasn't it when we blew up the janitors' closet with our homemade Explosive Tags?"

"I thought those were smoke bombs," Izumo replied.

"No, Smoke Bombs don't do so much damage," his partner disagreed.

"That's what we thought. We wouldn't use them there anyway."

"Wouldn't we?" Kotetsu raised an eyebrow.

"Well, back then we probably would," Izumo admitted. "But we aren't like that anymore! We haven't blown up a closet in… how long was it?"

"Last year," the man with the bandage over his nose supplied. "During the mission to Border Town."

"Oh, that was quite something," Izumo smiled at the fond memory. "We shouldn't show our faces in there for… at least another year."

"So as we said, we are good for causing small trouble, but we never did anything big. Starting a war, that's far outside our reach. Only a truly great character could accomplish that." By the time they finished, everybody's mood was brightened by the light, teasing tone of their bickering. Even Naruto was smiling. Iwana occasionally shot him a dark glance, but everybody ignored him.

"You see it, Tiny? Your reputation is preceding you," Hana teased.

"Would you please stop calling me Tiny?" the blond scowled. "I'm a chuunin now."

"I'll stop calling you Tiny whenever you stop being the smallest on the team," the clan heiress retorted. Naruto scowled and then eyed his teammates. He reached barely to Hana's shoulders and with Hotaru it was even worse. Then his eyes landed on the Haimaru siblings. Despite their fast growth, they were still puppies. The Inuzuka noticed the direction of his glance. "No, Tiny, dogs don't count."

The Haimaru barked. To an outside observer it sounded like they were complaining about being called insignificant, but the members of Team Tenzo knew better. The triplets detected enemies. The freshly promoted chuunin tensed. They tried to act like they noticed nothing, but they couldn't keep their hands from straying near their kunai pouches, their eyes from darting across the rice fields, searching for a place that could be concealing enemies. Anko noticed their sudden change of demeanor.

"_What's going on?"_ she asked in Konoha's secret sign language. Aloud she said: "Even they would outgrow him in a couple of years."

The three canines barked happily. At least that was what it was supposed to sound as. In fact they were reporting their findings about the enemy.

"_Enemy ahead," _Hana signaled back. _"Approximately ten of them. Strength unknown."_ "You hear that, Tiny," she teased. "Give them two or three years and they'll be like Kuromaru. So you'd better do some fast growing in the meantime, or they might mistake you for snack."

"They'd rather not even try," he scowled at them dangerously. _"I think I smell them as well."_

By that time everybody was aware of the danger and they were covertly shifting into battle positions.

It didn't take long for them to reach the ambush site. Whoever made it marked it clearly by a huge puddle in the middle of an otherwise dry road. The members of the Konoha party had hard time not to scoff aloud. How could the enemy be so stupid?

It turned out they weren't. While the Leaf teams were preparing for danger ahead, the real attack came from behind. Only those with finely-honed chakra senses had an advance warning. When Tenzo shouted "Duck!" the massive wave was almost upon them. Naruto didn't waste a second to obey, but he was already too late. The wave slammed into him full force, pushed him to the ground, then some counter-current lifted him up and dragged him somewhere to the fields. The young chuunin struggled to get to the surface, but the water didn't allow him. There was chakra in it, hindering his movement. He couldn't even use the bottom to stand up, his feet sunk deep into the mud. He tried for a Kawarimi, but the enemy chakra around disrupted the flow of his own.

'Crap, I have to do something or I'll drown here,' he thought. Unfortunately in all his training there was nothing that would prepare him for this situation. They had trained fighting underwater a bit, but never being held beyond the surface by a jutsu.

He was about to panic, when he noticed a shadow moving towards him through the rice stalks. 'Enemy!' He spun as fast as he could. It was just in time to redirect the man's kunai jab away from his torso. It was barely enough, but his flak jacket blocked the blade before it could reach his skin. He reached over his shoulder and took out his ninjato. Charging Wind chakra into the blade was reflex now, but there was no air to form the sharpened extension. He swung his weapon at the enemy, but his movement was hindered by the water and the man evaded skillfully. Before he lost sight of him, Naruto got a glimpse of his breather. Even if he couldn't see his hitai-ate in the murky water, he was pretty sure he was facing a Rain nin.

The currents of the water shifted slightly. Naruto didn't need any more warning. He swung his sword over his shoulder. He was rewarded by the sound of escaping bubbles when the attacker let out a silent scream after Naruto's blade sliced into his biceps. It seemed that even underwater the Wind chakra could sharpen edges.

Naruto felt the chakra in the water around him dissipating. The pain must have broken the Ame ninja's concentration and he lost control of the technique. The blond wasted no time in swimming to the surface. It surprised him how close it actually was. 'The jutsu must concentrate on making the surface solid,' he theorized.

He took a deep breath as soon as he could. He shook his head rapidly to get the water out of his eyes and took a moment to survey the situation. The carts from the supply caravan were randomly lying around, most of them overturned and dunked in the muddy water. 'The garrison isn't going to be happy,' shot through his mind.

He scrambled to the surface of the water and stood up. There was no way he was getting entangled within the rice stalks again. He barely straightened, when the Rain shinobi sprung from the water, trying to pierce him through. Naruto took a desperate leap away. He almost made it, he received only a shallow cut on his thigh. The Rain shinobi was upon him in an instant. Naruto barely managed to block his stab with his sword. He didn't even have the time to charge the blade with chakra again. The force behind the attack sent him skidding across the surface. The masked ninja pressed his attack. It looked like Naruto was in for a tough fight.

* * *

The end for now.

Next time: Battle (obviously).


	33. A battle in the fields

**A.N.:** Here comes another chapter. It was a real pain to write, but it's finally finished. The next one is barely started, so I can't tell when I'll be updating next. Read and enjoy.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Izumo managed to get a grip on one of the wagons. By some miracle, it didn't fall on top of him, he managed to stay on top when it overturned. The currents had pulled his bandanna off his head, but he barely paid notice to it. He'd worry about his untamable hair later. He had more pressing concerns now, namely the fate of his friend.

"Kotetsu!" he shouted. He didn't get an answer, well, not counting the kunai somebody threw at his back. He flattened himself against the surface and the projectile narrowly missed him. He threw a shuriken at the enemy, which was promptly blocked. Izumo quickly rolled to the other side of the cart, landing on the road. He never liked being a stationary target.

"Kotetsu!" he cried again and again he received no answer. He was beginning to worry. He could see only water everywhere and the occasional upturned wagons. Oh, and a couple of his peers fighting the attackers. But still no Kotetsu.

His musings were cut short when a Rain ninja suddenly sprung from the water in front of him. Izumo instinctively punched him in the face, but hit only his respirator. He hissed in pain. He nearly broke his fingers on the metal construction. The Ame nin didn't even flinch. He thrust with his kunai, trying to pierce a hole into Izumo's stomach. The Konoha chuunin twisted a bit and the blade slid on his flak jacket. He kicked with his right leg, trying to unbalance his opponent, but ended up loosing his own footing on the slippery ground. He fell to his knees. The enemy was quick to capitalize on it, kneeing him in the face. Izumo crashed into the cart. He would be lucky if he didn't lose any teeth here. As the Rain ninja lifted his leg to stomp on him, he had to correct his initial assessment. He would be lucky if he got out of here alive.

Luck seemed to favor him that day. Jus when the Ame shinobi's foot was about to connect, something cut into it from a side. The Rain ninja screamed in pain. Izumo's eyes were fixed on the weapon that had just saved him. It was a very familiar giant, slightly curved kunai.

"Kotetsu!" he exclaimed relieved. Never in his life he had been so happy to see his teammate.

"Sorry I took so long," his friend smiled back. The water had ripped the bandage from his face. "I got a bit tangled in something."

"Doesn't matter as long as you're here," Izumo answered sincerely.

"No time for talking," Kotetsu interrupted handing him the second giant kunai. "We still have work here." It was true. The wounded Ame ninja had gone over the shock of the wound and was currently running through handseals. Kotetsu had no intention of letting him finish. He rushed at him, weapon poised to strike. Izumo was only a step behind him.

They were both too slow. The Rain ninja finished his seals and the water rose between them, forming a wall. The wall then toppled, threatening to swipe them into the mud again. Izumo escaped via a Kawarimi with a crate fallen out of one of the carts, appearing behind the enemy's back. Kotetsu was too slow. The wave sent him floating into the rice field.

Izumo jumped at the Rain ninja. He managed to catch him unawares. The man had registered movement out of the corner of his eye, but he was too slow to get out of the way. He managed to deflect the jab with his forearm guard, but the tip of the kunai sunk into his flak jacket, causing a shallow wound. Unfortunately the weapon got stuck there. The wounded man was quick to capitalize on it. His uninjured arm shot out, catching Izumo in the face. Again. The Konoha chuunin absently thought he would have to do something about this pattern.

The Ame ninja scrambled to his feet, gripping a kunai in his hand, intent on finishing Izumo off. Before he could slash his weapon down, there was a flicker of movement and then the masked man collapsed to the ground, revealing the figure of Kotetsu, still holding the bloody giant kunai.

"Why so down?" he snickered, cocking his head sideways.

"Not really," Izumo replied with a smile. "Just laying back and admiring the scenery."

"And you'd leave me to do everything by myself?" Kotetsu mock-scolded.

"Let's go," Izumo said standing up. "The others are still fighting."

"Of course," his teammate smirked. "What would they do without us?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Underwater~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana was completely disoriented. She knew she had to go up, but she couldn't tell which way it was. The wave had knocked her around so many times, that she completely lost her sense of direction. She tried to let out some bubbles and follow their ascent, but she couldn't see them in the muddy water. She kicked and trashed around wildly. She could feel the panic threatening to overwhelm her.

'Calm down,' she told herself. 'You're a chuunin now. You can't afford to lose your cool now.' But her self-discipline was running out along with her oxygen reserves.

Then something slammed into her side. If she had any air left, she would have screamed. Now she only swiped her arm at the offending… something, forgetting that there were only regular nails on her fingers now. Whatever was digging into her side remained unyielding.

Suddenly she broke through the surface. She drew in a breath with the greedy desire of somebody who thought she wouldn't be doing it ever again. She shook the water from her eyes, much like her dogs would do. She took a brief look around. She realized that the thing that had pushed her upwards was a small tree.

"Thanks," she coughed up to Tenzo-sensei. She swiftly disentangled herself from the branches and jumped onto the solid ground. Then something hit her. She couldn't see her dogs anywhere.

"Haimaru!" she shouted. Only one bark responded. Where were the other two? She whistled. The same dog that barked earlier answered with a pitiful whine. It didn't bode well. What had happened to her precious little Haimaru? She rushed to find out.

"Hana!" Tenzo shouted a warning. She flung herself at the ground. A volley of shuriken flew over her head. That was close. Crap, she had to concentrate. She wouldn't be able to help anybody if she got herself stupidly killed. But it was so hard to stay calm when her partners were in danger.

She spotted a handy crate and exchanged herself with it. It brought her closer to her sole responding dog. She quickly scrambled to her feet and ran to him. She found him behind an overturned crate, nudging the body of his brother with his nose. Hana wasted no time in removing the crate from the unlucky animal. One glance revealed to her that he was merely knocked out. She sighed in relief. But where was the third one?

A sharp bark roused her from her musings. She instinctively rolled on the ground, avoiding the Water Spear aimed at her midsection. She immediately spotted her attacker. It wasn't hard, he wasn't even hiding. She reached into her pocket and took out one thoroughly soaked Soldier Pill. She threw it to her conscious dog.

"Let's go," she commanded and activated her Shikyaku no Jutsu. Her fangs lengthened and her nails grew into claws. The dog turned into a perfect imitation of her. "Gatsuuga!"

The Rain ninja reacted quickly. Hana's furry tornado tore only through a crate he exchanged himself with. The Inuzuka stopped spinning, looking around for where her opponent was hiding. Usually her nose was enough to determine this, but now everything was drowned out by the stench of mud.

Her copy gave a sharp bark. So there! She turned around, her fingers already flashing through seals. 'Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu.' Try dodging this. The Ame ninja jumped into the water, escaping the deadly flames. Before Hana could swear, another spear of water rose against her, trying to impale her. She jumped sideways, but the spear pursued her. Her eyes darted left and right, searching for something to exchange herself with. Then her dog came to her assistance. He leapt at the spear from the side, disrupting the jutsu, but he was hit. He was flung sideways, his Henge dispelling.

"No!" Hana shouted. When she got her claws on the enemy, he was going to be so dead. Now how to find him underwater?

Her eyes caught a hint of movement. She flung two kunai at it. It had no visible effect. Then a hail of shuriken was sailing towards her. She quickly ducked behind a crate. Her situation wasn't good. Two of her dogs were down for the count, the third one was missing and she was fighting an enemy she couldn't see. Fortunately Tenzo's lectures covered this problem.

She reached into her pocket and carefully withdrew two Exploding Notes. They were dripping wet, but still in working condition. She wrapped them around two kunai handles, mindful of their fragile state. Once finished, she jumped out of her hiding place. Two kunai thrown her direction showed her where the enemy was hiding. She retaliated with her own, using her chakra to activate the Tags. The throwing knives disappeared beyond the surface. Not a second after there was a bang and a huge geyser shot to the skies. Once it died down, the unconscious body of an Ame shinobi floated up. Hana smirked. 'That will teach you to mess with my dogs.' Then her smile disappeared. She had yet to find the third one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Fields~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotaru found herself entangled in something furry. Said something was moving frantically, scratching her. She fought to disentangle herself from it. Her feet found the bottom and she managed to stand up. She caught up some dirty water. She noticed something moving nearby. She instinctively whipped out a kunai, but then she realized it was one of Hana's dogs, though he was hard to recognize being completely soaked. She quickly jumped to the surface of water and helped the dog up as well. The Haimaru could walk on water (once they had learned it), which was a source of amazement to the purple-haired kunoichi. Hana assured her that it was quite normal among Inuzuka dogs.

She took a quick look around. She found out that the wave had carried her far from the rest of their group. She couldn't see any enemy nearby. She decided it was a good thing. She also noticed her companions fighting, some of them being outnumbered. She realized she had to help them. She started running on the water surface, the dog keeping at her side

They covered barely a third of the distance, when the water in front of them suddenly surged, forming another wave and sending them underwater again.

'This is getting old,' thought Hotaru as she once again got entangled with the dog. She broke the surface to take a breath, but was immediately knocked back under by a foot to her head. Stars danced in front of her eyes and she inhaled a bit of water.

She broke the surface soon enough and started coughing. From the corner of her eye she noticed some movement. It was her attacker again, but he didn't get to strike her second time. Hana's dog bit his ankle. The man screamed and tried to kick the canine off, but the teeth were deeply embedded in his flesh. Finally the bitten man remembered he was a ninja and took out a kunai, intending to stab the animal. Fortunately by the time Hotaru could breathe again and joined the fight. The Ame nin was forced to block her vicious sword thrust. He managed it with little trouble and retaliated with a punch. The kunoichi tried to dodge, but it glanced her stomach anyway. She was forced to take a step back, desperately trying to catch her breath once again. Her opponent was extremely physically strong. It looked like she wouldn't be able to win with kenjutsu alone.

But kenjutsu battle was what she had to do now. The Rain ninja finally managed to free his leg from the dog's jaws and attacked her with vengeance. Her kodachi stopped his kunai, but his kick landed on her thigh and upset her footing. His punch headed straight for her face, but she managed to dodge by a hair's breadth. She jumped back to gain some distance. She couldn't hold her own for much longer this way and she knew it. She wanted to try a jutsu, but her opponent wouldn't let her. He was upon her in an instant and once again she was forced to defend against a number of dangerous attacks. Little cuts and bruises began to appear on her body with an alarming rate.

Just as she was about to give in to despair, a flurry of movement caught both hers and the opponent's eyes. The man leapt backwards and the furry tornado missed him by an inch. The Haimaru couldn't perform the Tsuuga to its full effect without the guidance of their mistress and without the aid of the Soldier Pills, but it had served its purpose. Hotaru gained the brief reprieve needed to cast a jutsu. Her hands clasped together in a sequence of seals. The Ame ninja was rushing at her again. She finished the last seal and thrust her arms forward. White lightning sprang forth from her fingers. She had to blink to protect her eyes from the bright white light. The shinobi jumped high to avoid it, but a couple of tendrils of the wide-range attack hit his legs anyway. The man hissed in pain. His legs refused to obey his command and he plunged straight into the water once he fell. Hotaru was waiting for it, another Lightning Blast prepared on her fingertips. She fired it just as the man was attempting to get out of the water.

Something slammed into her from behind. It made her lose control of her technique. The bolts of lightning went wide, only glancing her intended target. A painful yelp let her know that she had hit the dog instead. She looked over her shoulder. She spotted her opponent's form there, now dissolving into water. When did he have the time to create a clone without her knowing? It must have been when she had blinked earlier. Fortunately even the Ame ninja lost control of his jutsu after being electrocuted, otherwise she would have been dead now.

She quickly scrambled to her feet. Her enemy was doing the same and though his movements were a bit sluggish thanks to the hit, he was recovering quickly. The purple-haired kunoichi didn't dare to use another jutsu. The sight of Hana's dog struggling to remain afloat warned her of the danger of hitting her allies. She unsheathed her kodachi instead and charged the blade with her Lightning chakra. She rushed at the enemy.

The man was standing as well, reaching into his pocket for more kunai. She had no intention to let him draw them. She slashed at his arm and when he dodged it, she followed with a kick aimed at his midsection. He turned to soften the blow and punched her. She found herself off-balance, unable to evade completely. The hit sent her skidding across the water surface.

She landed on her feet. The Rain ninja was charging at her again. She sprang forward to meet him midway, but she lost her footing instead. The Ame shinobi had sent a chakra pulse into the water to disrupt her water-walking technique. She barely had the time to widen her eyes in surprise before he bore down on her. Her instincts took over. She somehow managed to dodge his kick and slashed with her kodachi, releasing the chakra stored in the blade. A lightning bolt shot forth, catching the man in the thigh. The leg gave under him. Hotaru quickly followed up with a stab just above his knee. Her blade was stopped by the bone. She smirked. He wouldn't be using the leg anytime soon again.

In the next moment she found out the hard way that the man still had three perfectly usable limbs. A vicious kick hit her head and sent her underwater. She nearly lost the grip on her weapon. Once again stars erupted in front of her eyes. She expected another attack to follow up immediately, but nothing of that sort happened. When she got out of the water, she understood why. Hana's dog shook of the earlier shock and was now holding onto the Ame ninja's left upper arm at such an angle, that the man couldn't hit him. Not that he wasn't trying.

The purple-haired kunoichi saw it as the perfect opportunity. Her opponent was clearly distracted. The blade of her kodachi once again crackled with Lightning chakra. The Rain ninja of course noticed that and turned towards her, but he couldn't do much with one of his legs injured and one arm restrained by a vicious canine. But even one arm was dangerous enough. The man extended it towards her, the sleeve slipping back, revealing that he had some sort of device concealed there. Hotaru couldn't tell what it was with just a glance, but she was sure she didn't want to find out. Last ditch attacks in general tended to be nasty. Her eyes quickly searched for something to exchange herself with, but the area was empty. There was only water around.

The device on the Rain ninja's wrist shot forward a hail of small needles. Judging from the tint at their tips, they were probably poisoned. The senbon embedded themselves in Hotaru's body, which promptly dissolved into water. The man had just enough time to look surprised when a sword tip entered his right shoulder. The Raiton chakra that discharged from the blade into his body didn't help any. The electricity paralyzed him in short order. The girl then withdrew her sword and slashed at his neck. One hit severed both his jugular and his windpipe. The fight was over.

Hotaru then picked the dog from where he was struggling in the water. Her latest attack had signed even him and he was obviously in pain.

"It is going to be all right," she tried to assure him petting his wet fur. The ninken whined. Her attention was upsetting the slight burn from the lightning attack, completely obscured from Hotaru's view by his thick fur. "Let's go find your mistress now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On the road~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anko was smiling. If there was something she truly enjoyed, it was a good battle. And good dango. Too bad she couldn't combine the two. Hmm, maybe she could try eating dango during a battle… and then stab her enemies with the sticks... She nimbly ducked the kunai sailing at her head and kicked the man trying to sneak up on her from behind in the stomach. Or maybe not. It could easily become her last dango and Anko wanted to eat many sticks of dango in her life. And fight many battles.

"What are you doing?" she shouted at Iwana, who was supposed to cover her back. The one-eyed man didn't answer. He was too busy blocking the kodachi of the man who had snuck up on him from his blind side. Anko threw a handful of kunai at him, forcing him to take a step back. "Do I have to do everything myself?"

"Thanks," the chuunin shouted.

"Don't thank me and fight," the tokubetsu jounin advised him. It was a good advice. For whatever reason, four of the Ame ninja targeted them. And neither of them was a slouch. The Snake Mistress was hard pressed to keep the upper hand in the fight.

She ducked low under a sword swipe and thrust her arm against the other enemy who was standing at distance, peppering her with kunai and shuriken.

"Senei Jashu!" A snake shot out from her sleeve, heading toward the man. He looked startled for an instant, but got over his surprise quickly. He jumped back, but was too slow to evade the serpent completely. The long fangs had bitten through his sleeve before a stab with a kunai dispersed the snake. But there was now blood seeping from the wound. Anko smirked. At least a little bit of the venom had gotten in. Now it was only a matter of time before the man was out of commission.

Then a yell of pain made her turn around. Iwana was kneeling on the ground, clutching at his belly. Blood was seeping between his fingers at an alarming rate. The Ame ninja holding a bloody kodachi swung his sword again. It cut between Akame's neck and shoulders. 'Crap,' thought Anko. She was now alone, surrounded by four high chuunin-level ninja. Her chances didn't look good. But she wasn't one to give into despair. Her eyes found a convenient crate and with a quick handseal she exchanged herself with it. One of the enemies guessed where she was going to appear and threw a kunai at her, but she evaded nimbly. Now that she didn't have anyone at her back, she could attack in earnest.

Her fingers raced through seals. 'Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu.' The Ame ninja quickly scattered. Only the one bitten by Anko's snake was too slow to react. The flames enveloped him. When they died down, his previously soaked clothes were on fire. Anko smirked.

"I love barbecue," she announced loudly. The shortest, and probably youngest, of her opponents was shocked by her proclamation. Perfect. Exactly what she wanted. She flung a handful of kunai at him. He shook of his distraction soon enough to get out of the way, but he didn't move far enough. The kunai slammed into an overturned wagon right behind him.

"Boom!" Anko yelled merrily and the Explosive Note wrapped around the kunai handle went off. The young Ame ninja was sent flying, his clothes scorched by the heat of the detonation.

"One down!" the kunoichi cheered. "Who wants to go next?"

"Me!" a voice shouted behind her. Her eyes widened. She didn't hear anybody sneaking behind her. She half turned, dodging the blow she could sense coming and ended right in the path of a vicious stab she didn't feel coming. The blade sliced through her trench coat and mesh bodysuit and stopped on her left shoulder-blade. As she fell to her knees, she wasn't too surprised to notice there was nobody where she had originally expected her enemy to be. 'He must have projected his voice in a different direction. And how did he get there? I thought I could see everybody.' Her question was answered when she noticed one of the Ame ninja dissolving into water. 'Fooled by a clone?' She mentally berated herself. 'I must be slipping.'

She kicked with her left leg. She hit the attacker in the knee. He hissed in pain and backed off. Anko quickly scrambled to her feet. She experimentally moved her left arm. She nearly blacked out with pain. It felt like her shoulder-blade was shattered. Even though it probably wasn't true, she wouldn't be using it anytime soon. It meant that she was in deep trouble. The shinobi she had kicked had already shaken the effects and the two others were charging at her too.

Then suddenly their feet stuck to the ground. The one on the left lost his balance and fell, his arms getting glued down as well. The other managed to remain upright.

"Sticky Capture Field: Success," Izumo's self-satisfied voice resounded. Kotetsu emerged from behind the wagon carrying a giant spiked mace. Izumo soon followed with a huge kunai. The two trapped shinobi tried to free themselves, but Izumo's jutsu held fast. The two Konoha chuunin made short work of them.

Anko meanwhile was busy defending against the one man who had gotten the drop on her. If he had thought that she would be an easy prey one-handed, he was forced to change his opinion soon. The kunoichi was fast in dodging and blocking. She couldn't get an attack in, but once Izumo and Kotetsu would join her, that would be easily remedied. The Rain ninja realized it as well. He redoubled his efforts to defeat her.

She barely dodged a vicious slash, her trench coat receiving a long tear. She retaliated with a savage kick, but the Ame ninja evaded and stepped close to her. He punched her while she was off-balance, sending her to the ground. Her injured shoulder-blade sent waves of sharp pain into her whole body.

The Rain ninja stood above her, ready to finish her. She had trouble moving through her pain. Izumo and Kotetsu were still too far. She was about to panic when the air was suddenly filled with sinister chakra.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On the fields~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto found himself in dire straits. His opponent was simply too good for him. He was barely blocking his attacks and his clothes sported many tears. Only his new flak jacket saved him from any serious harm, but that couldn't last for long. If he only could create a Wind Blade, he could turn the tides of the battle in his favor, but the Rain ninja didn't give him even the split second needed to concentrate. In Naruto's mind, Tenzo's voice was reminding him of the importance of being able to perform a technique even during the heat of the battle. The words were proving themselves true currently. The young chuunin had thought he was good enough, but it became painfully obvious that it wasn't the case. He was being outmatched in the terms of speed, physical strength, experience and favorable environment. All in all exactly the ingredients for a premature and gruesome death. The blond wanted to avoid it no matter what. But what could he do? Since the beginning of the fight, he didn't get a chance to attack. The first lucky hit he got in only because his enemy had underestimated him, but there was no chance of it happening again.

His opponent got closer and Naruto tried to kick him, but once again the adult man was faster. The jinchuuriki received a foot to his stomach and was sent skidding backwards. He landed on the road. His opponent was next to him in an eyeblink, kicking him in the chest. Naruto was sent flying once more. He landed on the hard surface of the road, coughing up blood and gasping for air. The Ame nin obviously considered him down for the count and strolled to him at a leisure pace. Tenzo's voice resounded in Naruto's head once again, telling him how stupid that was. He could now simply charge his sword with the Wind chakra and slice him in half. Well, he could have done it if he hadn't lost the hold of his weapon when the Rain ninja had kicked him the last time. But what else could he do? If he tried to make handseals, the enemy would see. But what had the needed damage factor and didn't require handseals? Naruto's mind immediately went to his newest creation. It was still far from perfect, but it would have to do.

He charged Wind chakra into his hands and willed it to make blades. He didn't try to make them move. He still couldn't keep them that way for long, so he would do it just before he would strike. Then he realized that the Ame nin was already almost upon him. He launched himself from the ground with a roar and swung at the man's stomach. The ninja obviously underestimated the danger of Naruto's attack. He hit him on the head with his fist, causing Naruto to miss his belly, but the Wind Blades enveloped fist struck his thigh instead. The tiny moving knives of wind cut through the skin and peeled it off. Then they continued into the muscle. Naruto didn't manage to keep his concentration long enough to cut the bone, but it was enough. The man screamed through his breather and collapsed to the ground.

Naruto scrambled to his feet. His opponent was wounded, but not yet defeated. There was no time for dawdling. He had no intention of repeating the mistake that had cost the older man the fight. He drew a kunai from his pouch. He sent Wind chakra into it and threw. His opponent almost managed to dodge. The blade pierced the side of his flak jacket, but failed to inflict serious damage. Naruto kicked. His ability to create Wind Blades on his feet had increased since the Chuunin Exams, but once again they were too short to cause anything more than a flesh wound.

The Ame nin got over his pain and counterattacked. His uninjured leg shot out, catching Naruto in the knee, making him fall to the ground. The attack was shortly followed by three thrown kunai. At such short distance, Naruto had no way to dodge. His arms shot forward, deflecting two of the three kunai. The third embedded itself in his right forearm. Naruto hissed and pulled it out. Then he sent it back to its owner, enhanced with Wind chakra. The man made the fatal mistake of trying to deflect it. The sharpened blade cut through his forearm guard, slicing deep into the bone. Naruto smirked. The fight was finally turning in his favor.

He got to his feet. The wound on his forearm was bleeding, but he paid little heed to it. It was already slowly closing. He noticed absent-mindedly that his sleeves were torn, completely shredded by his newest attack. He would have to replace the shirt. Or maybe buy a short-sleeved or a sleeveless one, but that was a matter for later consideration. Now he had an enemy to kill.

He reached into his pouch for more kunai. The blood flowing along his arm reached the red mark on the back of his hand. The world suddenly turned red.

* * *

Next time: The conclusion of the battle.


	34. A thin red line

**A.N.:** So here finally comes the next chapter. I don't know when the next one will come.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Do I look that rich to you?**

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In the fields~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo found himself hard-pressed to stay alive. Almost as soon as Hana had darted off, two Ame ninja had teamed up on him and judging from their abilities, one of them was a jounin and the other one would be considered for jounin promotion soon. One of them had a short sword and was engaging him in a furious kenjutsu battle. The other was standing on the sidelines and was assisting the other from a distance, either with projectile weapons or with Suiton jutsu. Tenzo's only advantage was that he couldn't use anything really powerful for fear of hitting his comrade. The Leaf jounin knew he had to do something to change his position soon or he would be a goner.

Then he noticed an opening in his opponent's guard. He quickly took advantage of it. His right arm shot forward, stabbing the Ame ninja in the side. In the next moment he realized his mistake. The water surface under his foot gave way and he began sinking. His blade missed its intended target. The man had twisted a bit and Tenzo's ninjato pierced only his jacket and got stuck in the thick material. He tried to push it out, but the Rain ninja turned in such a way to make it very hard. Tenzo had to struggle to keep his grip on the handle.

The sound of air being cut by sharpened steel was the only warning he had. He let go of his sword and leapt back. Or at least tried to, he couldn't do much without solid footing. But it was enough. The hail of thrown kunai had mostly missed him. Only one had embedded itself in his flak jacket and was now scratching the skin over his ribs. He pulled it out with haste. He did it just in time to use it to block a swipe from the Rain ninja, who still had Tenzo's ninjato lodged in his vest. A shuriken passed dangerously close by the former ANBU's ear. It reminded him that his situation had just gone from bad to worse. The need to do something to change it had skyrocketed.

He took a deep breath and plunged underwater. He didn't want to do it earlier, because the Ame shinobi were better equipped and trained for an aquatic battle, but he was a Mokuton user, which was composed form Earth and Water, and that meant he was still in his element.

It was a good thing that the water was murky and it took his enemies a couple of seconds before they located him. He felt a tip of a sword trying to pierce through his jounin vest, but it was too late. He was already finished with his handseals. His chakra spread into the water around him. The water rose in a wave, throwing his attacker off. The Konoha jounin didn't waste a single moment. As soon as he gained some distance between himself and the enemy, he began another series of seals. The first jutsu wasn't meant to incapacitate his opponents, but what he was about to unleash was. He concentrated to find out the exact locations of the Ame shinobi. He could feel one without a problem, but the other one was too far and he couldn't pinpoint the exact place. Too bad. He'd have to deal with him later.

The Ame swordsman didn't believe his eyes when little trees suddenly sprouted from the mud and water around him. He blinked once to clear his eyes and that little moment of hesitation cost him dearly. The trees continued to grow rapidly, twining around his legs, then reaching for his torso and arms. Their grip on him tightened. One branch snaked around his neck, slowly suffocating him.

'One down,' Tenzo thought. 'Now for the other one.' But first he needed to breathe. Casting two jutsu underwater drained a lot of energy from him. He broke the surface, opening his mouth, trying to take in the much needed air, and was hit in the face with a wave. The other Rain ninja wasn't idle either.

The former ANBU was forced back underwater. And what was worse, he inhaled a bit of water. His lungs were burning. He couldn't cast another jutsu, it would have made him faint and subsequently drown. He needed to get out, everything else be damned. He jumped out of the water. He inhaled the air greedily. A handful of shuriken impacted with his back, but thanks to his trusty flak jacket they couldn't cause anything worse than a couple of flesh wounds. He knew he should turn around and fight, but his body had other plans. He started coughing violently.

The Rain ninja was quick to capitalize on his indisposition. A spear formed out of the water, trying to impale him. The former ANBU had mustered enough strength to get out of the way, but only barely. A hail of shuriken headed his way. He had no time to move aside. He dived underwater again.

He swam as fast as his clothing allowed. He heard the projectiles hitting the water. He waited only for a moment before jumping out of the water again. He spotted his opponent close to the place where he had sunk underwater, looking for him. Thanks to the racket he had made when he had sprung out of the water he spotted him easily. He raised his hand to throw another handful of shuriken at him, but Tenzo was faster. He launched a pair of kunai at him, forcing the Rain ninja to dodge. The masked man had thrown his shuriken anyway, but his aim was off. Only one of them bounced off Tenzo's faceplate.

The Mokuton wielder felt still too shaky and weak after his near-drowning and didn't dare to use a jutsu, for the fear that such a drain on his chakra would send him right into unconsciousness. He stood on the water surface and ran to the strangled man to retrieve his ninjato. His abused lungs protested the strain, but he ignored them. He had a battle to win first, he can rest and visit a medic later.

The Ame ninja had no intention to allow it and rushed at him. He probably didn't have chakra to spare either and thrown weapons didn't usually do the job. It was a desperate race. Tenzo feared he was going to lose, when his opponent stumbled suddenly. The leaf jounin spared a glance over his shoulder to see what had brought him the sudden luck. He saw a kunai protruding from the man's calf. Behind him Hana stood, preparing for another throw. Further behind one of her dogs was limping towards them.

The Ame ninja, seeing the new development, turned towards Hana. He saw her as a young girl and therefore an easy target. He sent a water spear at her, which the Inuzuka heiress avoided easily. Tenzo used the brief reprieve to pick up his sword. It also gave him the time to catch his breath. He didn't feel like fainting if he used a jutsu anymore. He took a moment to assess the situation. The Rain shinobi was now facing the dog mistress, which meant he had his back turned to him. The former ANBU wasn't one to let such golden opportunity slip by.

Meanwhile the Ame ninja was trying his best to get rid of Hana. He decided to take care of her close and personal. Maybe because his chakra and shuriken supplies were running low or maybe because he was so cocky. He came to regret his choice soon; the dog mistress was no easy prey even without the aid of the Haimaru triplets. She fired a Great Fireball at him. The Rain chuunin avoided it by diving underwater. Or tried to avoid it. Tenzo's jutsu was ready. A wall of earth rose from the bottom of the pond, raising the Ame nin above the water and right in the path of Hana's Goukakyuu no Jutsu. The flames of the technique burned him into crisp.

The Wood user let out a deep sigh and leaned on the tree still holding the corpse of the other Ame ninja. The last technique had drained him more than he expected. Either his near-drowning had been worse than he thought, or he'd have to step up his training.

"Are you alright?" he asked Hana.

"I am," she answered, "but I can't find one dog." Her anguish over her missing partner was evident in her voice and face.

"Let's go look for him then," Tenzo decided. "And let's see whether the others need help." The kunoichi smiled brightly.

They didn't even have to search. Soon after they set off they spotted Hotaru with the canine in question in tow. The Inuzuka squealed in joy. The dog barked and ran to her, jumping with joy and licking her face.

"I see you're happy, but can you cut it short?" the jounin interrupted their welcomes. "We still should help the others."

"Yes," the purple-haired girl agreed. "Do you know where is everybody?"

"I think that way," the Mokuton wielder pointed, but before he could say anything else, the air around them was filled with oppressive red aura.

"Naruto's in trouble!" Hana exclaimed.

"If he's like that, it's his enemies who are in trouble," Hotaru disagreed.

"Only as long as he can control it," Tenzo added. "If not, then everybody is in trouble." He desperately hoped that his charge wouldn't lose control of the Kyuubi. He was too exhausted to use his demon-binding powers. If the young jinchuuriki went berserk and turned on them, they would be all doomed.

The trio ran among the overturn carts looking for their allies, who were still fighting. As they passed one overturned wagon, they came within sight of Naruto. They stopped dead in their tracks. The young blond was crouched on the ground, enveloped in red haze, two tails of chakra waving behind him. In front of him was lying his opponent, or what was left of him. The demon vessel was systematically tearing him apart, one little piece after another. The rest of Team Tenzo had the sinking feeling that the man was still alive. In that moment, they understood that their nightmares had just come true.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On the road~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For a moment, Anko's heart froze in fear. She recognized the sinister chakra in the air immediately. It had been nine years since she had felt it and she had hoped she would never have to feel it again. But this was not the time for idle musings. She was in the middle of a battle, currently in an unfavorable position with an enemy standing above her, prepared to stab her. She couldn't afford to zone out now. She was only alive now because her opponent was startled as well. The moment the oppressive aura had filled the air, he had forgotten all about her and was now looking around, searching for its source.

It was a fatal mistake. The dark-haired woman quickly fished out a kunai from her coat and sprang up like an attacking cobra. Her hand was aiming right under the hem of the man's flak jacket. She buried the kunai in his guts up to the hilt. The Rain ninja screamed in pain, but he wasn't down for the count yet. The kunoichi twisted the blade in the wound for a bit before pulling it out. The Ame nin fell to his knees. The snake mistress finished him with a stab to his head.

With the immediate danger over, she could address the rest of the situation. Akame Iwana was lying on the ground, bleeding from the neck wound. Izumo was kneeling next to him, trying to stop the flow, but it looked like a wasted effort to her. Kotetsu was rushing towards her, prepared to assist her, but stopped when he saw she didn't need it anymore. Instead, he looked worriedly over his shoulder.

"Is that…?"

"Yes," she nodded, "it's exactly what you think."

"What are we going to do?" he asked worriedly. What, indeed? That was the question. It wasn't like she could do much against a demon when she was at her best and currently one of her arms was useless. They could only pray that they wouldn't need to do anything and that meant trusting Naruto to handle himself. For now, she had to prevent her subordinates from panicking.

"Take care of the wounded," she ordered Izumo, "and you," she turned to Kotetsu, "come with me and we'll look whether someone else needs help." Kotetsu nodded. Izumo looked up from his position beside Iwana.

"This one isn't needing my help anymore."

"What?" she barked at him.

"I think he just died," the chuunin elaborated.

"Oh," she paused. "So you'll be going with us too." Kotetsu nodded and joined the party.

They didn't get too far when they spotted Team Tenzo minus Naruto sprinting towards them. Hana was carrying a limp dog. The expressions in their faces didn't bode well.

"What's the matter?" Anko shouted.

"Trouble!" Hotaru replied. "Naruto lost it!"

"Can you restrain him?" the black-haired kunoichi turned to Tenzo. The former ANBU shook his head ruefully.

"No. I'm low on chakra."

"Too bad," the snake mistress grimaced. "What are we going to do now?"

"Run?" Kotetsu suggested.

"Good idea. Let's just hope he snaps out of it before he catches up." The two chuunin visibly paled.

"Where's Akame?" the Mokuton wielder inquired.

"Dead," the tokubetsu jounin replied simply.

"And the Ame shinobi?"

"We took care of ours."

"So did we."

They ran. They made barely a hundred steps when they noticed they were followed. And their pursuer was gaining rapidly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's mind~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto felt like he was drowning. Everything around him was submerged in an ocean of blood red power. It was pushing on him from all sides, trying to suffocate him. He resisted with all his might, but there was nowhere to escape to. The space around him shook with deep vibrations and after a while Naruto realized it was laughter. After listening to it for a while longer, he thought he recognized the voice. It was one he dreaded hearing. Kyuubi's. But what had happened? Last thing he remembered he was finally gaining the upper hand in his fight. He wasn't in danger and he couldn't remember being wounded. There was no need for the Nine-tails' chakra to come out and he certainly didn't call on it. So what did happen? And did it even matter? He should be concentrating on getting his control back. But how?

He took a careful look around. The place, that at first had seemed so alien, suddenly became familiar. He was in one of the tunnels of his mindscape, only instead of darkness it was filled with sinister red light. He quickly decided which way to go.

The malignant red chakra grew thicker and thicker the further he went. Every step was more daunting task than the previous one. But Naruto refused to stop. He couldn't. The flow of chakra going in the opposite direction was trying to sweep his feet from under him, but he refused to give in.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, he entered the cavern that housed the Kyuubi. He stopped dead in his tracks on the threshold. The cavern was alight with the demon's chakra. He could now see how enormous it really was, but he barely spared it a glance. His attention was fully occupied by something else. The beast itself was standing close to the gate, grinning evilly, its tails pushing between the bars, sending its poisonous chakra through. Naruto squinted in the red light. He tried to find the paper seal on the bars, but the currents of demonic chakra obscured it. What was going on? How was the kitsune able to do what he was currently doing?

The monster suddenly moved, his head turning to face the child.

"_**So you could actually get here?" **_it snickered mockingly._** "I'm impressed. But it doesn't matter. You are powerless to do anything anyway."**_

"What's going on?!" Naruto shouted.

"_**Foolish little mortal,"**_ the demon sneered. _**"Can't you tell? You really are just a stupid hairless ape."**_

"All I see is that you are out of your place!"

"_**My place?! Out of my place?! Don't you ever dare to tell me where is my place again, mortal. Though, I suppose, you won't have the opportunity ever again," **_the fox grinned evilly.

"Don't count on it!" the human snapped.

"_**Count on it?" **_Kyuubi cocked his head sideways. _**"I don't have to count on anything. You have already lost."**_

"I don't see it," the bond lad scowled. "I don't know how you got out of your cage, but I'm going to kick your sorry hide back in!"

"_**Such big words from such a tiny pest," **_the monster mocked. _**"I'd like to see you try, because you are inevitably going to get crushed."**_

"You wish!"

"_**I don't have to wish, I can simply do it!" **_the creature boasted. _**"And there's nothing you can do about it, you insignificant little bug! Soon I'll have my freedom back and then I'm going to tear apart everybody who had anything to do with the pest who sealed me in here!"**_

"I'm not going to allow it," Naruto stated. He punched one of Kyuubi's tails. His fist went right through.

"_**And how do you plan to accomplish that?" **_the kitsune taunted. _**"As you can see, all your efforts are in vain."**_

"We'll see about that," the jinchuuriki growled with conviction. It fact, he wasn't feeling confident at all. He had no idea how did the demon's chakra leak out nor how to plug the leak. The demon realized it as well.

"_**Try as you might, you fool!" **_the fox laughed. _**"You don't even know what allowed my chakra out!"**_

"Care to enlighten me, oh wise and ancient one?" the blond asked sarcastically.

"_**And why should I?" **_The Nine-tails raised an imaginary eyebrow.

"Because it doesn't matter anyway?" the boy tried.

"_**Nice try," **_the Kyuubi snorted, _**"but I don't think so."**_

"So it does matter!" the chuunin exclaimed triumphantly.

"_**Not really."**_

"Then why don't you tell me?" the youth prodded. "Are you afraid, that if I knew what happened I would be able to stop it?"

"_**No," **_the Nine-Tails denied,_** "but why take the chance?"**_

"So there is a chance," Naruto muttered to himself.

"_**Fool,"**_ Kyuubi commented, but the boy paid it no mind. He was fully concentrating on making his way through the cave. He was convinced that the key to the problem lay within the seal. The red chakra whirled and thickened, trying to block his path. The blond smiled. For him it was a proof that he was right.

Finally, after what had felt like years, he reached the gate. The demon fox was snarling into his face, but he didn't let himself be intimidated. He had to put up a strong front before his enemy. It would have been much easier if his knees weren't shaking so badly. He leaned against the bars and looked at the seal closely. At first he couldn't see anything out of order in the blinding light of the demonic power, but after he squinted a bit, he noticed a tiny tear in the paper. He wouldn't have noticed it at all if it wasn't soaked in blood. Naruto had never seen it before, but it still seemed familiar. But where from?

As he pondered it, his eyes strayed to the back of his hand that was holding on the bars next to the seal. The mysterious red mark was there, mocking him with its enigmatic presence. The genin stiffened. It was exactly the same shape as the tear in the seal. He did a double-take to make sure, but the result stayed the same. But how was it possible?

His thoughts turned to the last time he stood here. It had been during the fateful banquet battle in Suna, when he had needed the power to fight Roushi and the Yonbi. He had reached into the cage then and grabbed onto the chakra. He had thought that was the end of it, but obviously not. Could he have gained the mark back then? Could he have been wounded without noticing it?

"_**So did you finally realize it or is your tiny brain unable to process even such simple information?" **_the Fox interrupted his thoughts.

"I think I get it," he answered.

"_**You actually think?"**_ the Nine-tails snorted. _**"That's a new one."**_

Naruto ignored him. He had more pressing concerns on his mind, namely stopping the flow of Kyuubi's chakra into his system. So there was a tear in the paper seal and it was soaked in blood. What could he do about it? Keep the edges together? Clean the blood? Something entirely different? He should start with the first two and see where it would lead him. He laid a hand on the rip. That presented him another problem. How does one repair a torn seal? It wasn't like he had glue on him and even if he did, he doubted it would be enough. And how should he wash out the blood? It wasn't like there was water around. Wait: no water? That was a new one. Every single time he visited here before, there was water up to his knees. But now… what was there? He looked down.

"_**So you realize the futility of your efforts?"**_ The boy ignored the demon completely. Instead he focused on what was under his feet. It was hard to see, but when he crouched down and tried reaching around, his fingers sunk into water. So it was there. It was lower than usual and tainted with the sinister crimson currents, but it was still there. He scooped a bit into his palms.

"_**What are you trying to accomplish?" **_the beast sneered derogatorily. The young chuunin paid him no mind. He stood up carefully, concentrating on not spilling the water, and lifted his joined hands to the seal. Then he poured a tiny trickle of the water on the rip in the seal.

"_**What are you doing?" **_Kyuubi sneered, but Naruto thought he might have detected a hint of panic in his voice. He allowed himself a small smile. He poured more of the water and chakra on the bloody tear. It had washed a bit of the blood. And he wasn't completely certain, but he thought he could breathe a bit easier. His smile widened. He reached down for another palmful of water.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Real world~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Konoha group found themselves in a hopeless situation. They were tired, some of them even wounded, and they were being chased around by a jinchuuriki-went-berserk. And there wasn't a single place to hide around.

"Shouldn't we scatter so at least someone might get away?" Izumo suggested.

"Can't you do something?" Kotetsu shouted at Tenzo. The Wood wielder considered his answer. He still felt dead tired, but if he did nothing, they would be caught soon. And then… he didn't even want to think about it. The fate of the Rain ninja would haunt him in his nightmares for a long time to come.

"I'll try," he answered. He stopped and turned towards the approaching danger. Naruto was running on all fours, red chakra enveloping him, two tails swinging behind him. He was snarling, his eyes red and slitted and devoid of everything human. Tenzo's heart tightened with fear. Was there any chance that his charge would break out of the demon's control? What was the chance that he'd do it in time? He had no idea and he had no time to ponder over it.

He clasped his hands together in seals. 'Jubaku no Jutsu.' Trees sprouted from the ground, trying to bind the raging monster. The Kyuubified Naruto saw it and changed his direction. The trees moved their branches, trying to reach him, but he was too fast for them. One managed to touch him, but was ripped off by a red chakra claw the next instant.

Tenzo fell to his knees panting. The technique drained his last strength and it was utterly ineffective. The form of his student moved around the trees he had created, approaching him slowly. He pushed himself to his feet, but his legs felt too weak to carry him away.

'Is this it?' he mused. He had never expected to live long, but he didn't want to go like this. Not by the hand of the boy he loved like a son, who was currently possessed by the most powerful of demons, whom he housed. Before he could fully give into despair, a kunai flew past his head. It hit the red chakra cloak enveloping Naruto head on. In the next instant the Explosive Note tied to its handle went off, throwing the crazed jinchuuriki back.

"Come!" Hotaru's voice shouted. The Purple-haired kunoichi ran up to him, grabbing his hand and dragging him off. Hana stood close by, another kunai with a Blast Note held in her hand, prepared to throw at the recovering demon carrier.

Naruto scrambled to all fours with a roar of rage. The dog mistress threw her kunai at him, but the Exploding Tag was too damaged by the water and failed to detonate. The Inuzuka cursed. That was the last one that looked remotely usable. The situation had just gone from dire to even direr. She turned on her heel and ran after the rest of the group. But before she turned fully, she noticed something that gave her a bit of hope. There was only one tail swinging behind Naruto now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's mindscape~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The seal was clean finally. The rip was still there, but the red color was washed out completely by Naruto's chakra. The oppressive taint had receded back into the cage. The imprisoned demon was snarling in frustration, fruitlessly beating its tails against the unyielding bars of its jail.

"_**You might have won this round, human, but you are far from winning this war. You might have washed away the blood, but the tear is still there."**_ Malice oozed from his words.

"I know," the boy answered. "Rest assured that I'll be looking into repairing it."

"_**You cannot do it," **_the demon growled. _**"The path was opened with your own blood and chakra."**_

"Stop telling me what I can or cannot do," the child scowled. "I decide such things for myself."

"_**It's a miracle you're still alive then," **_the kitsune scoffed.

"I love you too, Furball," Naruto shot back.

"_**Don't call me that!"**_The fox didn't appreciate his jailor adding insult to injury.

"If you have nothing else to say, I'll be going." He ignored the Kyuubi growling hatefully. He wanted nothing more than get out of there and sleep for a week. Cleansing the seal left him completely drained. And what was worse, he could still feel the Nine-tails pushing against it, trying to get free. He was using his chakra to hold the tear closed, but that wouldn't work all the time. He feared what was going to happen should his concentration slip.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Real world~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto slowly came to. The red chakra around him had receded and his eyes had turned to their normal blue. He fell to his knees. He felt completely drained. For a moment, he only knelt there and panted. Then he found the strength to lift his head and look around. The rest of the Konoha group minus the one-eyed chuunin (what was his name again?) was standing at safe distance, eyeing him warily. Closest to him Tenzo was sitting on the ground, slowly bleeding from three gashes on his forearm.

"Did I do this?" the young chuunin asked in a small voice. His guardian was slow to respond. That was answer enough for the young demon vessel. He hung his head down, feeling extremely ashamed of himself.

"_**Why so down?" **_his tenant asked in his mind. _**"He's bleeding so beautifully. Or do you regret not tearing him to pieces? You can still do it, you know. I might even help."**_

'Shut up!' he shouted internally. The Kyuubi was the last person he wanted to talk to now.

"_**And why should I?" **_the Nine-Tails inquired. Somehow, Naruto could see the raised eyebrow in his voice. _**"You might have stopped the flow of my chakra, but you aren't going to get rid of me so easily."**_

'Just shut up,' the blond repeated tiredly. His only answer was the demon's evil laughter.

"Don't blame yourself, Naruto," Tenzo spoke. His charge looked away. How could he not blame himself for hurting his guardian? His sight fell on the mark on his right hand. That was the source of his trouble. Would the Kyuubi overwhelm him every time he bled on it? He sure hoped not. He'd have to ask somebody to help. And he should learn more about seals. His lessons with Kanou weren't enough.

"Quit the brooding, you two," Anko interrupted his train of thoughts. "We're still on a mission." The jinchuuriki nodded gratefully. Anything that would occupy his mind was welcome. He tried to stand up, but his legs refused to carry him. He fell back onto the road ungracefully.

"Help him up, Izumo," the snake mistress commanded one of her subordinates.

"I'm Kotetsu!" the underling in question protested. She double-took him.

"You don't have your bandage and your hair is down," she observed.

"I lost it and it's wet," he explained.

"You really look alike now," Hotaru remarked after studying the duo of chuunin for a while. "I wonder how Izumo's hair looks like when it isn't held down by his bandanna."

"I hope we'll find it," the ninja in question muttered.

"Quit joking around, we have a job to do," the tokubetsu jounin commanded. The group, in a lighter mood, headed towards the overturned carts to see if there was something salvageable of their cargo.

* * *

Next time: A bit of angst and the beginning of another mission.


	35. Undercover

**A.N.:** Where did my faithful reviewers go? Did my last chapter suck so bad that it scared you away? Come on, it wasn't so bad as the latest manga. So why did it get the lowest number of reviews since chapter 17? It made my muse really depressed and I havent even started writing the next chapter. So If my last chapter sucked, I hope this one would redeem me in your eyes.

I also took a bit of liberty with some filler countries not much is known about, so I hope I didn't contradict anything in canon.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

Also a major change from the original version occurs here. When I first wrote this, Kishimoto hadn't revealed all of his world map soI used the names of countries from fillers here. Now the countries have their canon names, so I changed them to those.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I never did and I never will. I don't even own the blue-black bunny anymore.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a somber journey to the outpost. Naruto felt down because he had attacked his teammates. His teammates were wary of him, because it was the first time he had turned against them. The Kyuubi wasn't helping a bit with his comments. Anko had tried to lighten the mood by cracking jokes about how Izumo and Kotetsu now looked like twins without their trademark bandage and bandanna (Izumo's hair was spiky and wild without it), but she had no success.

Naruto's right hand was now wrapped in bandages to prevent any blood from getting close to it. He wasn't too sure it would work if he was wounded in a battle, but fortunately they didn't encounter any more enemies on their journey. The outpost's commander hadn't been too excited with the state they delivered his supplies in, but they managed to divert his anger towards the Rain ninja.

They returned to Konoha and reported the occurrence to the Hokage. The old man looked grave and then demanded to see Naruto's seal. He had studied it for a long time, but couldn't find anything wrong with it. He then examined the mark on Naruto's hand, but couldn't come to any definite conclusion about its workings. He considered putting a chakra-suppressing seal on it, but that would disrupt Naruto's ability to cast jutsu. They decided to keep it in store in case things got seriously out of hand. He also said he'd call Konoha's best sealmaster to solve the problem, but the man was currently away and there was no telling when he was going back. Even the Hokage didn't have a quick way to contact him.

The young chuunin visited Kanou, asking him for more lessons about seals, but the retired ninja was too busy manufacturing supplies for the war and he knew next to nothing about the seal to contain demons. He couldn't teach his occasional pupil much more than he already did.

Gloomy and depressed, Naruto went to the one place that always helped to brighten his mood: Ichiraku's ramen stand. It took one look for old man Teuchi to brew a big bowl of Naruto's special and put it in front of the brooding boy without further question. After two helpings, Naruto felt good enough to tell what was troubling him. The ramen chef couldn't offer any sound advice, but his kind words somehow managed to convince Naruto that the solution would be found. He left in much better mod then he came in.

Team trainings were still a bit tense, but as days turned to weeks and Naruto didn't go berserk again, the tension was lessening. His work on his new jutsu was also progressing. He realized that the problem was in the direction of the blades; he couldn't make them move perpendicular to their edges without destroying them, but he could move them a bit sideways. Once he understood this, it became much easier. Well, not counting the incident when he nearly cut off his own fingers. Fortunately the wounds healed quickly and not a single drop of blood touched the mark. It was a bit of mystery for everybody present how he had pulled it off. He still had trouble holding his technique active for more than a second or two before the blades distorted, but he theorized he could create new ones as soon as the old ones lost their edges. Practical application of this theory was still eluding him.

Not everything was rosy on the home front. It seemed that somebody had overheard a snippet of his conversation with Ichiraku and now word went through town that he was unstable and prone to go berserk at the slightest provocation. People demanded he should be sent to the frontlines so he can massacre the Rock ninja and not citizens of Konoha, but the Hokage was reluctant to do so for fear of the Kyuubi taking over again. But the situation was becoming unpleasant. To make it worse, Tenzo was called off on a solo mission and the time of his return was uncertain. Naruto was spending most of his time holed up in the training grounds, working out until he dropped with exhaustion. This worried his teammates. Something had to happen or he would snap.

Fortunately the solution presented itself. They were sent on an undercover mission.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Frost Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So what's the plan again?" Naruto asked as they were speeding through the trees.

"Get to the city, infiltrate the festival, keep an eye on daimyo whatshisname… Futsutsuka?" Hotaru tried.

"Fusutsuka," Hana corrected.

"Fusutsuka, Futsutsuka, what's the difference?" the blond boy shrugged. The brunette shot him a dirty glare.

"Keep our eyes on daimyo Fusutsuka and report any suspicious activity to daimyo Kikutomo," Hotaru finished.

"I know that," the youngest teammember replied, "but how are we going to do that? Are we going to just wander around, munch on some dango and keep our ears open and hope we'd hear whatever ploys is Futsutsuka plotting? It isn't like the mission scroll gave much detail."

"That it didn't." the Inuzuka heiress grimaced. "And it's Fusutsuka. Fortunately we have almost a week to spare before the festival begins. That's plenty of time to come up with something."

"We have to make ourselves inconspicuous first," the purple-haired kunoichi suggested.

"Yes," Hana agreed. "We'll have to do something about this face of yours," she pointed at Naruto.

"Look at yourself," the blond retorted. "Those clan marks of yours are quite obvious and how do you intend to hide your dogs?"

"Don't worry about my dogs, Tiny," the canine user replied. "They can take care of themselves quite well."

"Why did you two ever get sent on an infiltration mission?" Hotaru laughed. "You'd stand out like sore thumbs anywhere. I have it much easier."

"Are you so sure?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Those hair of yours isn't exactly inconspicuous either."

"What do you have against my hair?" The oldest girl on the team scowled.

"You mean beside the ridiculous color?" the only boy of the trio raised his eyebrows.

"What's wrong with it?" Hotaru retorted. "It's beautiful, unlike a certain somebody."

"Shouldn't we be planning for the mission?" Hana chastised them.

"Yes," the other girl admitted, "but what are we going to plan? We have virtually no information."

"Then we are going to gather it first," the clan heiress answered.

"Thanks for the advice," the purple-haired kunoichi replied sarcastically. "I wouldn't have figured it out myself."

"It would be much easier if we at least knew what to look for," Naruto mused. "I mean: the daimyo of Hot Springs Country suddenly decided that the daimyo of the Frost Country might be plotting something against him. He didn't even say what tipped him off. If he at least said who is he supposed to be plotting with."

"Then he wouldn't need us, would he?" Hana pointed out.

"True," the boy agreed. "So what is our cover story going to be?"

They all agreed they were going in as civilians. Frost Country didn't have their own hidden village, but their location at the neck between Hot Springs Country (and Fire Country behind it) and Lightning Country made it easy for the locals to hire ninja from both villages. Even Kiri wasn't far, so they could expect to see somebody from there too.

The Frost Country capital, Shimo, stood in a hilly area deep inland. Its surroundings were mostly grassy, but there was a couple of occasional forests as well. A river flowed around it, creating a deep valley with steep sides, with cliffs emerging on several places. The biggest of them had jagged edge that was often covered in frost whenever it got cold and glittered beautifully in the morning sun. Local legend said that the whole country was named after it. It was entirely possible, because the Daimyo's castle stood on top of it. Around the castle, the rest of the city was build. A major trading route went through it, leading to Lightning Country at the northeast and to Hot Springs and Fire Countries at southwest.

It was this southwest road, on which a traveling performer named Akane and her three trained dogs entered Shimo. Some people were intrigued by her well-behaved canines and bright facepaint, but thanks to the upcoming festival, many artisans were coming to the city, so she didn't stand out too much. An hour later, two orphaned sisters, Ran and Ren, entered the city. Some men turned their heads after them, since the older one, Ran with her long dark hair, was quite a looker, but otherwise they remained unnoticed. They wandered the streets for a while, listening to people's chitchat, until they settled for the night in the Preening Peacock Inn, where a traveling artist happened to be showing tricks with her three trained dogs. After a modest dinner they retired to their room for the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hotel room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm going to murder the hag who sold me the hair-dye," Hotaru, currently known as Ran, muttered. "Pleasant gingery shade, she said. Ginger, tcha. If this is ginger, I'm the princess of Fire Country."

"I don't know what you are so mad about, Ran-chan," her little 'sister' Ren, usually known as Naruto, replied. "I think it's an interesting color."

"Interesting," the kunoichi spat. "Only you can say something like this. It's absolutely ugly!"

"It's an exotic shade of brown," the younger ninja replied. He had used his improved Henge no Jutsu to look like a ten-year-old golden-haired girl.

"Exotic?" the older (and only real) girl raised an eyebrow. "Well, you can say that. I certainly haven't seen anything like that before." Her hair presented quite an odd sight. Instead of its usual bright purple, it was now an indefinable brownish color with strands of red, black and grayish hues.

"I don't see what you are complaining about," her young teammate said rubbing his cheek. "At least your hair doesn't itch." Naruto's cheeks always started itching a bit when he masked his whiskers. Over time it could become very annoying.

"You can change back the moment this mission is over, Tiny," the older kunoichi pointed out. "But what if I can't wash it out? What if I have to cut my hair?"

"At least you won't complain about your hair clashing with your vest anymore," Hana's voice joined the conversation. The dog mistress slipped into the room through the window. Her face was covered in bright make-up that made her look like a clown, but it also hid her clan marks perfectly. Both her teammates had seen it before, yet they still had a hard time keeping their faces straight. Hotaru's hair wasn't the worst part of their disguises after all.

"That's mean," the used-to-be-purple-haired kunoichi pouted.

"Try walking around looking like this and playing stupid tricks to stupid little brats," the Inuzuka shot back. "You wouldn't be in the mood for pleasantries either."

"And looking like this isn't bad?" Hotaru pointed to her hair.

"Why? Is there something wrong with your dress?" the dog mistress pretended not to notice the hair.

"You know what I mean!"

"Hey, girls," Naruto interrupted, "shouldn't we be discussing our findings instead of fashion?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daimyo's compound~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kichirou wasn't having a good day. He was even on the verge of calling it a bad day, something he almost never did. The last time was when… well, he'd rather not go there. It haunted his dreams even now.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Such idle musings won't help him any. He had a problem and he had to solve it. He was the chief butler in Daimyo Fusutsuka's household and he was responsible for the preparations going smoothly. He shuddered when he remembered the fate of his predecessor after the debacle three years ago. There was no way he'd allow something like that happen to him.

The problem was that it was now mere three days before the festival and an epidemic had broken out amongst the household staff. It had been the worst among the maids. He even had to temporary promote some of the kitchen staff to fill in the empty spots. That naturally opened up positions among the cooks, so he was forced to hire. And to make matters worse, there didn't seem to be enough decent helpers in whole Shimo. The moment the word spread out that there was work in the Daimyo's palace, every street kid applied. He had to deal with such ruffians… Like now. The youngster barely knew how to stir a pot, much less cook a decent meal. And let's not even go into his personal hygiene habits. At least the pair that entered after him looked good.

And what good looks they were. The older one couldn't be more than fifteen, but she was already shaping up nicely. He could imagine she would grow up into quite a beauty in a couple of years, if it wasn't for her odd hair. The younger one… well, he didn't think he'd ever seen such a beautiful hue of gold before. And if she took after her sister in central departments, then in a couple of years… well, that was like something out of his favorite books with orange covers.

He closed his eyes and counted to ten, trying to banish the mental image of a golden goddess from his mind. He was a serious, respectable person, he couldn't allow himself to be caught leering at little kids. Once he was alone though… He counted to ten once more. This wasn't the time for daydreaming. He had a job to do. He remembered what had happened to his predecessor for botching the festival. That was enough to purge all perverted thoughts from his head.

He opened his eyes. The two girls were waiting patiently.

"What did you say your names were?"

"I'm Ran," the older one answered.

"And I'm Ren," the younger one added. Even their voices were sweet.

"Beautiful names," Kichirou uttered. The girls smiled coyly. It looked utterly too cute on their young faces.

"Thank you, kind sir," Ran blushed. Ren only looked at him with her huge sky-blue eyes. Kichirou felt his heart fluttering. He swallowed. He couldn't let himself be distracted so easily.

"So you are looking for work," he said in the sternest voice he could muster, which wasn't much. He didn't have the heart to be mean to pretty girls. The two beauties nodded. "Now you must understand, it's only temporary, though if you perform well, you might be hired long term."

"Really?" the golden-haired little angel asked with hope in her sweet voice. Kichirou mentally slapped himself. What was he doing? If he was too soft on the applicants, they would demand a high salary and that just couldn't be! Did everybody think that the daimyo's treasury was bottomless? It certainly wasn't the case, as Yokumaru-sama, the minister of finance, often reminded him. No, he had to be stern, no matter how hard it was not to smile at such pretty girls. Now what job would he assign to them? It would be a shame to have them waste away in the kitchen, their beautiful soft hair matted by the fumes from the cooking food. No, he'd assign them to serve at the tables, their guests would be delighted to be waited on by such beauties. He would have preferred to keep them for himself, but one couldn't have everything.

"You must also understand that it's a very responsible job," he preached to them. "You will be providing for some of the most important people in this country and several others." The younger girl swallowed, looking mildly intimidated. "The nobles expect everything to be perfect and they can get quite angry when the services don't meet their expectations. And trust me, you really don't want one of them angry at you." Now little Ren looked ready to bolt. Maybe he overdid his speech a little. He'd have to go easier on her, or she would run for real. He allowed a small smile to appear on his face. "Now, what your duties will be." The girls perked up, listening with rapt attention. "You will be…"

At this moment, the door opened with a bang, interrupting Kichirou's speech. An elderly obese matron in a dirty apron appeared in them.

"What's taking you so long?" she barked scowling at Kichirou.

"What are you doing here?" he scowled back. Yuuna, the head cook, was the last person he wanted to see now.

"The lunch isn't going to cook itself and you still didn't send me enough helpers!" she berated him. "Are you slacking off again?" Then her eyes fell on the pair of girls he was interviewing. "You two, come with me," she ordered in a voice that silenced any protests before they could be voiced. Kichirou could only watch in dismay as his two angels disappeared in the dungeons that housed the kitchens.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Preening Peacock Inn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Report," Hana commanded when the team gathered in their room. "How did the infiltration go?"

"Partial success," Naruto answered.

"Partial?" The Inuzuka raised an eyebrow.

"We managed to get a job, but it wasn't the one we were aiming for," the blond explained.

"If I see a dirty plate again, I'll smash it on somebody's head," Hotaru added. "Why did we have to get a job there again? Couldn't we just sneak around? We're ninja, for Kami's sake."

"It's much better to have an excuse should we get caught," Naruto reminded her.

"And why would we get caught? We are ninja and the guards are not," the Uzuki girl grumbled.

"Some of the guests might bring shinobi guards," the dog mistress reminded her.

"Right," Hotaru admitted. "But it still isn't worth all the dirty dishes."

"Don't be so down," her younger teammate tried to cheer her up. "At least you can finally put the special kunoichi classes to use."

"Do you even have any idea what they taught us?" the girl snapped.

"No?" the boy admitted.

"They taught us the refined arts essential for women of class, not some measly dishwashing," the Uzuki explained. "Now if we got the job as waitresses, that would have put my hard-earned kunoichi skills to good use."

"It would also make it harder for us to sneak away," Naruto pointed out.

"We wouldn't have to sneak around if we were already there," Hotaru huffed.

"Do you think they would discuss a conspiracy in front of so many people?"

"What do you know?" she shrugged. She knew he was right, but she didn't like to admit defeat in an argument. It made her even grumpier than washing the dishes.

"Now if you're quite finished," Hana said, "can you tell me what did you find out about the castle?"

"People there use loads of plates," Hotaru answered. The dog user sighed.

"There are lots of people," Naruto observed. "We haven't detected any shinobi presence."

"They wouldn't go into the kitchen first place," Hotaru muttered.

"I went into the kitchen," the Inuzuka heiress pointed out.

"I don't even want to know what you did to the servants," the only boy on the team said.

"Nothing permanent," the medic of the team answered, "but they're going to feel sick until the festival is over. And you better have something more to report. Don't tell me I got into the trouble of gathering the proper herbs for this."

"Well," Naruto scratched his head. Hana scowled.

"That Yuuna woman didn't let us from her sights," Hotaru finished.

"Is that supposed to be an excuse? I expected better of you," the self-proclaimed team leader chastised them. "Are you ninja or not? That wasn't the performance worthy of a chuunin."

"And what about you?" the boy retorted. "Did you have any more success?"

"Well, I didn't manage to secure a position among the entertainers for the banquet," the brunette admitted somewhat embarrassed. "It appears that daimyo Fusutsuka is allergic to dog fur."

"So you did even less than us," Naruto gloated.

"Watch it, Tiny," the dog mistress growled.

"So what are we going to do next?" Hotaru escalated before the name-calling could escalate.

"More surveillance, what else," the Inuzuka shrugged.

"At least we have access to the compound. It's going to be easy from now on." Naruto really should have known better than to say such things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daimyo's castle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A young maid was walking through the hallways of the personal wing of Daimyo Fusutsuka's castle. In her hands she carried a priceless antique vase and within it the flowers arranged by the greatest master of ikebana in whole Frost Country. Well, whether she was really the greatest was arguable, but she was certainly the most expensive. In Fusutsuka's mind that equaled quality, so he hired her to do all the flower-arranging around the palace. Ume, that was the servant's name, scowled a bit. Just what was so great about the bouquet she was holding in her hands? She was no expert of the flower language, so maybe the whole arrangement was some elaborate poem, but to her untrained eyes it looked, well, not exactly ugly, but she thought she could have done better. The blue, purple and white blossoms sure were pretty, but what was the one reddish-orange doing there? It completely ruined the whole. She shrugged. It wasn't like she had any place to question the tastes of the nobles. Her task was only to bring the vase to the Daimyo's chamber and put it on its designated spot, which she promptly did. But she made the hideous orange flower face the wall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Preening Peacock Inn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Report," Hana commanded once again.

"Why so formal?" Hotaru raised an eyebrow. "Who died and made you the boss?"

"I am the commander of this mission," the Inuzuka snapped. She had spent the day making her precious Haimaru perform silly tricks and enduring the ogling from the male populace, so her temper was quite short. Hotaru had to wash dishes the whole day so she wasn't any better off.

"I must have missed your appointment."

"Your problem," the clan heiress scowled. "Now the report."

"Oh, yeah," the other kunoichi sighed. "I spent the day washing dishes, listening to idle gossip, failing to learn anything of importance, unless you consider the latest development in the affair between the head cook and the chief stable boy a matter of importance. It was gross. They're both ancient and fat. Oh, they also brought lots of supplies so lots of guests are expected. Oh, and I also helped to place some transformed Naruto clones around."

"What about you?" the self-promoted mission leader turned to her male subordinate (though he didn't look that way at the moment).

"I got my disguised clones into the main wing of the palace," Naruto began his report. "I managed to keep the daimyo under surveillance most of the time since noon."

"And what did you find out?" the brunette prodded when the young blond(e) wasn't about to continue.

"Nothing of interest," the youngest chuunin answered hurriedly. His teammates immediately knew he was holding something back.

"That isn't enough," Hana scowled. "Give me a more detailed report."

"He didn't do any plotting and he didn't meet with anyone suspicious," he informed her.

"That's still not enough," the kunoichi stated. "I want you to tell me what he was doing hour after hour. And if I'm not satisfied, I'll make it a minute after minute. So?"

"Well," Naruto began, "He had lunch, rather opulent one, then he laid back and listened to music," here his face reddened a bit. The sharp eyes of his teammates caught it, but Naruto didn't give them the chance to say anything. "Then he went to his office and did some paperwork, I couldn't read it from my position. Then he had some tea and sweets. Then he went to the throne room and was giving audiences. Two farmers came with a dispute over some lands and he judged them. I forgot their names. Then was dinner time. Once again he ate a lot. Then he went to his room. And then he went to sleep." Naruto's face turned bright red.

"I think you aren't telling me something," the dog mistress stated.

"I told you everything!" the young jinchuuriki protested.

"I don't think so," she shook her head. "You're withholding something and withholding information on a mission is serious offense, so you'd better tell me."

"Do I really have to?" Her only male teammate was pleading, his face aflame.

"Yes, you do." Hana was merciless. "Or do you want to be in my report for disobeying an order? That's a serious offence as well."

"Well, he read for a while…" Naruto's voice trailed off.

"You're still doing it," the Inuzuka heiress scowled.

"What?" He tried to look innocent and failed miserably.

"You're still withholding information," she clarified. "So better tell me now or else. What book was he reading?" By this time, she had a pretty good idea of what her young teammate wasn't reporting, but she was in a sadistic mood and wanted to see him squirm. The blond blushed so beautifully, especially in his current female form.

"I couldn't see the title, but the cover was orange."

"That's better but that still isn't all," Hana told him. "What happened next?"

"Th-then a lady came…"

"Somebody visited him and you didn't tell us?" The dog user pretended to be enraged. Naruto hung his head, his face attaining an even deeper shade of red. "Who was she?"

"He called her Aimi-chan," the boy answered.

"We'll have to investigate this," Hana muttered just to torment her teammate. She wasn't disappointed. His eyes nearly popped out. "Such women are often dangerous. Who knows what…"

"That won't be necessary," he interrupted her hastily. "She isn't a part of any conspiracy."

"And just what would you know?" The dog mistress had a hard time maintaining a stony expression. Hotaru wasn't any better off. "Tell me all they did together."

"A-All?" Naruto's face was a mask of pure horror painted in crimson.

"All," the girl nodded gravely. The boy took several deep breaths in a futile attempt to regain his composure. Finally he realized it wasn't working and started speaking.

"He-he pointed at a spot in the book and said that they would do this. She looked into the book, said good idea and… Do I really have to do this?!" Naruto screamed in frustration. His face was still deep red, but his eyes were blazing. It was probably only a trick of light of the setting sun, but Hana thought she saw a flicker of red in them. She unconsciously took a step back. What was she thinking, teasing the jinchuuriki that way? It wasn't that long since he had lost all control. What had gotten into her that she had nearly tried to cause another such incident?

"No, you don't have to," she shook her head, her heart beating rapidly. "I can imagine."

"Good," the boy growled. He then ran into the bathroom and locked himself there. Hana didn't dare to remind him that the team meeting wasn't over yet.

"Looks like you overdid it," Hotaru stated the obvious. She was smiling slightly, not feeling any of the terror that had gripped her teammate's heart. The dog mistress growled at her. The purple-haired girl blinked in surprise. "What's with the mood?"

"Nothing." The Inuzuka didn't meet her eyes. She suddenly felt ashamed of herself. Was she really so scared of little Naruto? Sure, she knew the power he housed, she even saw it in action, but did she actually believe he would unleash it upon them in retaliation for mere teasing? She shook her head. Naruto would never do such a thing and she knew it. But did she really? Didn't she just a moment ago fear his rage? She feared that the close bonds of their team were broken the day on the rice fields. She felt she was being a bad teammate, and that was one of the worst offenses in the Inuzuka clan. She resolved she'd try to be a better one and refrain from teasing the boy, well, at least until the next irresistible opportunity arose.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daimyo's compound~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was now a day before the festival and guests started arriving. Naruto's clones were spread throughout the manor, disguised as decorations and some odd utensils. They were keeping their eyes on every person that arrived, watching for any signs that one of them was the mysterious conspirator. So far they had no luck.

Then in the afternoon some minor noble arrived. Naruto couldn't tell who he was and where he was from, but one thing he knew for certain: The two bodyguards with him were shinobi. And what was worse, they were wearing hitai-ate with symbols the young chuunin had never seen before, and Tenzo made him learn the symbols of all the current and past villages. This one wasn't among them. It was a musical note.

* * *

Next time: Who are the mysterious strangers? And who else is going to show up?


	36. Sneaking around

**Author's note:** Thank you my readers for all the reviews. I'm glad you didn't abandon me forever. Now here finally comes the next chapter. I have no excuse for it being so late except me being lazy.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors and country names changed to follow canon.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. That should be a no-brainer, shouldn't it?**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kitchens~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_What is it? _Hotaru asked in the secret sign language when Naruto suddenly stiffened and nearly dropped the plate he was scrubbing furiously.

_Ninja around,_ he signaled back, laying the plate on the 'clean' pile, even if she could still see a spot on it. Yuuna was going to be mad, but neither of them cared.

_How many?_ She wanted to know.

_Two, _he informed her._ Skill unknown._

_And village?_ That was usually the most important part so she was surprised he didn't tell her immediately.

_Unknown. _That was even more surprising.

_Couldn't you see their hitai-ate? _It was the custom to make them visible. Nobody wanted to be mistaken for an enemy by his allies.

_I could, _the youth answered._ Symbol unknown. _Now there was something she really hadn't been expecting.

_What? _She hoped that she had misread his signs, but his answer crushed the notion.

_Symbol unknown. _That was really worrisome.

_You can't remember which minor village it belongs to?_ It would have been a convenient explanation, but despite Naruto's dislike for academic studies, he remembered important things well.

_No, _he shook his head._ I never saw it before._

_So you aren't that good on your general knowledge? _Thekunoichi asked teasingly, but the manner in which she was biting her lower lip betrayed her real mood.

"Hey! You two!" Yuuna's voice interrupted their conversation. "I don't pay you for slacking off! Or do you think the dishes will wash themselves?" The two young ninja, still in the disguises of Ran and Ren, sighed and once again reached into the dirty water in the sink. After a while, when the head cook turned her attention on another poor sod, Hotaru dared to continue their conversation.

_Why did you dispel your clone?_ Hotaru asked something that had been bothering her._ Shouldn't it be better if it continued the surveillance?_

_Well, you see… _Naruto looked embarrassed.

_What is it?_ She prodded.

_Well, one of the nobles said they never saw such a hideous bouquet and they threw me out, _he admitted with a sheepish girl burst out laughing. Yuuna scolded them again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daimyo's compound~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another of Naruto's clones was having more luck. It found a nice suit of armor standing in a hallway and masqueraded itself as a feather top. So far nobody remembered that the particular suit of armor should have none. So far, it had been a boring day. Only occasional servants had passed through before and most of their talking covered last-minute preparations for the arriving guests. He envied his dispelled comrade for spotting at least something important. If he could, he would have sighed. It didn't seem like he would gather any remotely useful intelligence.

But late in the afternoon, his luck turned. Two people were passing by, immersed in conversation, yet their eyes were darting back and forth, looking for possible eavesdroppers.

"I won't believe the spot is safe until I see it," the taller, leaner one spoke.

"I assure it is," the shorter man replied. Naruto recognized him as the one who hired them for the kitchen job.

"Let me be the judge of that, Kichirou-san," his companion replied.

"Of course," the head butler nodded. "Is one hour after sunset a good time for you?"

"I think my master would agree," the tall man answered.

"That's good to hear," Kichirou smiled. "Now for the other business…"

"Shouldn't be discussed in the hallway…," the other one interrupter harshly.

The voices grew weaker, as their owners disappeared behind a corner and probably behind a door as well. The clone couldn't hear them anymore. He took a quick look around. There was nobody around. He quickly turned into a cat and jumped down from his spot. He didn't land on all fours like a proper feline, but he didn't dispel either, so he decided to call it a success. He darted after the two men. He turned a corner and found himself in another corridor lined with multiple doors. He couldn't see the pair anywhere. How to tell the correct door?

Before he could come up with any idea, one door slid open and an elderly matron with a broomstick walked out. She immediately spotted the transformed clone; it was an easy task with it standing in the middle of an empty hallway.

"What are you doing here, stupid critter," she snarled. The clone tried its best cute kitten expression, but the woman was immune. "Go away before I make you!" She accompanied the threat with hefting her tool ominously. 'I can't afford to get dispelled now,' the clone thought. 'It would give our presence away.' He opted for a tactical retreat. He gave the janitor an insulted meow and backed off.

He considered what should he do now. He had just witnessed an important member of daimyo's court talking with someone, who looked like a ninja to him, despite wearing civilian clothes. Should he dispel now and inform the boss? Or should he return to his surveillance and hope he would overhear something more? There was no guarantee that the pair would return the same way or that they would say anything of importance. So what would it be? He was wary of using any more jutsu for the fear of being discovered.

In the end, he returned to his spot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kitchens~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Their shift was almost over, when Ren spaced out for a moment.

_What? _Hotaru asked in sign language.

_Overheard an interesting conversation, _her blond teammate explained._ One probably ninja. Discussing probably some meeting._

_The same as those before?_ She wanted to know. She was almost certain that the answer would be yes.

_Another. _That surprised her._ Didn't have a hitai-ate._

_That's bad, _she frowned._ But we might be onto something._

_Yes, _he agreed._ Maybe he is actually plotting something. Who would have thought?_

_The other daimyo, obviously, _she almost snorted._ Otherwise we wouldn't be here._

_Yes. And the head-cook is looking at us again. _They resumed diligently washing the dishes.

_Too bad we can't see the sun from here, _Naruto signaled after a while. Yuuna was currently scolding some poor girl on the other side of the room, so it was safe.

_Why?_ She was puzzled.

_They're meeting an hour after sunset, _he informed her.

_Then we still have time, _she pointed out._ Where?_

_I don't know, _the youth admitted.

_Too bad, _the kunoichi sighed._ How do we find out? What about following them?_

_I lost them, _he confessed with a grimace._ And I'm not sure who would be at the meeting._

_That sucks._

_I can only hope some of my clones would pick them up, _Naruto mused.

_We should have a better plan, _the girl suggested. Her teammate shot her a glare.

_Any ideas?_

_Not right now, _she admitted.

_That's what I thought. _Hotaru scowled. Naruto continued unfazed. _I'll send some clones in the general area. If some of them would be discovered, it would dispel. They won't link it to us._

_What's the chance of discovery? How many ninja are around?_ She wanted to know.

_Not sure, _he shrugged._ I didn't get all the reports yet, but they are at least twenty, as guards of the visitors, but we expected that._

_So no telling how many of them are hostile?_ The kunoichi asked.

_Everybody who'd catch us spying would be hostile, _he reminded her.

_Then don't get caught, _she advised.

_I wouldn't have figured it out myself. _It was too bad that the sign language couldn't express sarcasm.

Finally their shift ended.

"Well, that's enough," Yuuna announced loudly. "Go home to sleep and don't forget to come back early tomorrow. I want to see you here an hour before sunrise." There was a chorus of rather unenthusiastic "Yes, Yuuna-san."

"What was that?" the head cook scowled. "You have the privilege to work for the Daimyo himself and you are not grateful for it? If you don't like it, you don't have to return! There are lots of people wanting to take your jobs!" Naruto and Hotaru exchanged an amused smirk before leaving the torture-chamber, eh, kitchen. They didn't head out of the compound like they were supposed to, but instead the blonde hid in a closet and quickly created a clone, which followed Hotaru out. The original stayed hidden until the coast was clear. He had a mission to perform today.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Preening Peacock Inn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotaru was nearly running through the city. Naruto's clones had dispelled shortly after she had left the palace. She had to inform Hana of the latest development quickly. They had to be prepared to act swiftly, depending on how Naruto would fare. Once she entered the inn, she gave a signal to the Inuzuka, who was entertaining the guests with her dogs. She than retired to her room and waited. And waited.

Finally, her brown-haired teammate bothered to show up.

"What took you so long," Hotaru began impatiently.

"I couldn't just get up and leave, that would have been suspicious," the dog mistress explained. "I came here as soon as I could. Now what is so important? And where is Naruto?"

"Still in the castle," she answered. "He came onto something."

"What?" The Inuzuka perked up.

"There will be some sort of clandestine meeting an hour after sunset," the (not currently) purple-haired kunoichi informed her. Hana looked out of the window at the rapidly darkening sky.

"That's going to be soon," she observed.

"Naruto is trying to get in," Hotaru added.

"That baka," the team leader groaned. "What if he gets caught?"

"He's sending clones."

"That's better, but not by much. You should have consulted it with me," the clan heiress chastised her.

"You weren't there," Hotaru pointed out.

"Yes," the team leader sighed. "You did what you could. Now we have to be prepared. Are you packed?"

"I didn't unpack."

"Good." The Inuzuka heiress nodded. "We'd go close to the castle and watch out for trouble. You'll tell me more on the way." And with the words she left again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daimyo's castle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto strained his ears to catch even the tiniest sound from outside. He could hear faint sounds of somebody talking, but it sounded far enough. It seemed he was alone. Good. He opened the door of his closet. It let out a loud squeak. The boy winced. He was sure it wasn't squeaky when he hid inside. Now the screech resounded ominously through the empty hallway. The youth quickly slipped out of his hiding spot. If somebody discovered him, it would be easier to explain why he was wandering the hallways than why he was hiding in a closet. But he was lucky. There was nobody around. The young chuunin sighed in relief. First part of his plan was successful. Granted, it was the easy one, but he purposefully didn't think about it. Now he had to find the right place. He headed it the direction where the clone overheard the conversation.

At first it was easy, but soon he entered a busier section of the palace. He had to duck behind a corner quickly to avoid being spotted. Now how to proceed? He wanted to avoid the use of chakra as long as he could; Tenzo had warned him numerous times that it can be detected by high-level ninja. So if you want to remain undetected, don't do it.

That presented another problem: How to remain unseen without the use of chakra? There weren't many things he could hide behind in the hallways. That left only one option: Look like you belong here and look busy, so nobody would bother you.

He quickly examined his clothes. They were simple peasant clothes, stained from his work in the kitchen. They wouldn't do. Fortunately they had counted on a situation like this. He quickly stripped his yukata and turned it inside-out. The inside revealed itself to be a sapphire-blue color decorated with orange flowers. He quickly put it on and bound with a blue belt he had been hiding in his sleeve. He looked himself over. He was still in the disguise of Ren and the colors of the garment brought out his hair and eyes nicely. He smiled. Much better. Now what to make himself look busy with?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daimyo's compound~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kichirou was rushing through the corridor. His lord was meeting important guests and the incompetent servants completely forgot to leave any snacks there. What if the guests or Daimyo Fusutsuka would get hungry and there wouldn't be anything they could bite into? That would make them angry and Kichirou certainly didn't want his lord angry at him. Did he already say what had befallen his predecessor? He preferred not to think about it. At least the sorry excuses for servants had remembered sake, so hopefully they wouldn't crave the missing food anytime soon.

But where to get some suitable food at this time of the night? The kitchens would be closed by now.

By a sheer stroke of luck, he noticed a servant girl carrying a large bowl of fruit. Perfect! He didn't have to search anymore.

"Hey you!" he called. The maid took a look around and made two more steps before stopping. Kichirou was about to shout again.

"Me, sir?" she asked in a meek voice. He cold se now that she was really pretty, with her golden hair and deep blue eyes, but she was still too young for his tastes. Now thinking of it: didn't he see her somewhere before? Well, if she came with some noble then he probably did.

"Come with me," he commanded.

"But, sir," she objected, "I have to carry the fruit to my lady."

"No, you don't have to," he disagreed sternly. "Now you have to take it where I say."

"But milady would be mad at me," the girl said with panic in her voice. 'And my lord would be mad at me,' Kichirou thought. 'Sorry, girl, I hate being nasty to pretty girls, but my own skin comes first.'

"You are coming with me," he said in his best threatening voice. The poor little thing trembled, but he had little sympathy for her. "Now," he added with a scowl. The golden-haired child nodded mutely. "Follow me," the man commanded and the girl obeyed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daimyo's palace~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto couldn't believe his luck. When the fat pervert Kichirou had stopped him, he had been scared his disguise had failed, but fortunately that wasn't the case. The man had only needed the bowl he had been carrying. Still, it had been an unwanted disruption of his mission, but then he realized that he was being led it the general direction he had wanted to go. Hope surged in his chest. Could it be? Could they really be going to the secret meeting? That would be a lot more luck than the young chuunin was used to having, but still it was a possibility.

And if it indeed was true, what did it mean for him? The upside was that he didn't have to search anymore. The downside was that it was the real him walking there. If he got discovered, he'd get caught. He didn't want to pursue that avenue of thought any further. And he'd have to leave the room once he'd drop the bowl off. If he could only stay there, or leave a clone… He didn't want to use jutsu for fear of being caught, but it looked like he'd have to take a chance here. He'd have to bet on them not having good chakra-sensing abilities. Besides, if they had a chakra-sensor type there, he'd be recognized as a ninja even before he'd walk into the room.

They were nearing a turn in the corridor. Naruto spotted his opportunity. He slowed down a bit, falling a few steps behind Kichirou. He waited until the man disappeared behind a corner and then stopped abruptly. He set the bowl on the ground and quickly created a clone, having it transform into a lemon. He put it into the bowl. Surely nobody would bite into this. He picked the bowl and rushed after Kichirou.

"What took you so long?" the obese man snapped at her.

"My sandal was slipping," the blonde lied smoothly. "I had to adjust it or I might have stumbled and dropped the bowl."

"Hn," Kichirou growled. He sure didn't want the bowl broken. "Just hurry now."

"Yes, sir," the maid nodded and followed him.

Soon they left the palace and entered the gardens. Kichirou walked on a wide path paved with light-colored stones, Naruto thought it was sandstone. They navigated through various groves and orchards until they reached a small garden pavilion. Two guards stood at the entrance. They looked like Frost Country samurai, not shinobi.

"Open the door," Kichirou commanded.

"We're under orders not to let anyone in, sir," the guardsman on the right replied.

"Don't you know who I am?" the head butler preened.

"We do," the soldier answered evenly. "You aren't exempt from the orders."

"But I have to get there!" the pompous man protested. "The servants forgot to bring any food there! What if the honored guests get hungry?"

"Not our problem," the samurai shrugged.

"Then I'll make it your problem," Kichirou scowled.

"Oh? How?" The guard was completely unperturbed.

"Who do you think is in charge of the provisions you get?"

"Somehow I don't think it's you." The soldier looked at him questioningly.

"Well, no," Kichirou admitted, "but it's my cousin. He'll do anything I tell him." The guard commander seemed to consider it for a moment.

"And do you know what the captain would do if I disobey an order?" he retorted.

"Well, sergeant," the other guards said.

"What?" the sergeant barked.

"They could give the bowl to us and I'd bring it in," the second guard suggested.

"Well, I suppose we can do that," the first soldier agreed.

"That's acceptable," Kichirou said. He motioned for Naruto to hand the bowl over. The boy complied. They stayed long enough to see the guard carry the fruit bowl inside before leaving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Garden pavilion~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto's clone was congratulating himself on his success. He had gotten unobserved into the room where daimyo Fusutsuka was meeting with two people he didn't recognize, but who had distinctive aura of importance around them. It seemed he had dropped in the middle of a conversation.

"So as I was saying before the interruption, I trust you have no problem with that?" a tall dark man asked in a rhetorical tone. It was obvious he didn't really care about the answer, but was pretending for the sake of appearances.

"You still haven't convinced me, Kei-dono," daimyo Fusutsuka replied.

"What is there not to like about our offer?" the third man added his two bits to the conversation. He was a short man of a completely ordinary appearance, but Naruto felt like there was a wild predator hiding under his skin. "You'll be only profiting from it. It certainly is much better than the alternative."

'Is it just me or did he really just threaten the daimyo?' Naruto's clone thought. 'Sure, Frost Country is small, but just who are those guys that they can get away with it?'

"I am well-aware of it, Katsumi-dono," Fusutsuka replied. He was hiding it well, but the chuunin could detect the strain in his voice anyway. He sounded like a man who had been backed into a corner and didn't know what to do about it. "But this wasn't what the original proposal offered."

"Wasn't it?" Kei raised an eyebrow. "I think you might have misunderstood some part of it, daimyo-sama."

"Don't use that tone with me," Fusutsuka puffed.

"I apologize, Daimyo-sama. I was out of my place." Kei didn't seem the slightest bit repentant. The Frost Country daimyo realized he wasn't going to get anything better from him, so he grunted in acceptance.

"Let's talk business again," Katsumi suggested.

"That's what are we here for," Kei added.

"Of course, honored guests," Fusutsuka nodded. "So as I was saying, I can agree with the first point but not the second one." 'Crap,' thought Naruto's clone. 'Must they speak in code? I'd like to hear what this is all about sometime today.'

"You heard our offer," Kei said. "Are the terms acceptable to you?"

"As I said before," the daimyo spoke, "this isn't what your original proposal was about. It was supposed to be one-time only, not for an indefinite time period."

"Oh, sorry for the misunderstanding, daimyo-sama," the dark-skinned man spoke. "What meaning would the right of free passage have if it was only for one time?" 'Finally!' Naruto's clone rejoiced. 'This sounds like I'm actually going to learn something today.'

"But surely you see the trouble allowing it would get me into," Fusutsuka pointed out.

"No, I don't see it," Kei shook his head. "If somebody called you on it, you can deny everything."

"I don't think they would be interested in hearing it," the daimyo scoffed.

"But think of the benefits," Katsumi interjected.

"I'm not sure they outweigh the risks," Fusutsuka retorted.

"I think you're being overly pessimistic," Katsumi pushed. "You are just a step away from achieving your ambition."

"Or a step away from a complete disaster," the daimyo mumbled, but to Naruto it sounded like he was less averse to accepting their proposal than he had been before. Now if they only said what it was all about…

"You know, daimyo-sama," Katsumi spoke with deliberation, "some things are going to happen regardless of your decision and there's nothing you can do about them. But what you can influence is whether you would profit from them or not. It's entirely up to you."

"Well said, Katsumi-dono," Kei nodded. "You can gain a lot from this while you venture little."

"Still, this can turn terribly wrong," Fusutsuka objected.

"Nonsense," the dark man smiled, "the chance of the operation failing is low. And think about the benefits. New land means new riches." 'Yes!' Naruto's clone thought. 'More information! And what did they mean about land gains? Was the paranoid daimyo what's-his-name of Hot Springs Country right and they indeed were plotting against him? Who would have thought?'

"I still want some guarantee," Fusutsuka said.

"Isn't what we already offered enough?" Kei asked. "Think about it carefully. Join us and you'll be victorious. Don't join us and… well," he let out a meaningful sigh, "the war will get here anyway and you'll be in a lot worse position."

'That doesn't sound good,' Naruto thought. 'The war is bad enough without anyone else joining in and something tells me those aren't our allies. But who are they? I wish they said it.'

"I think such issues shouldn't be pressured, Kei-dono," Katsumi spoke. "I think it would do the negotiations good if we took a short recess now so our dear friend Fusutsuka could think about our offer in peace. All the talking made me parched. I'd like to drink some tea now. I'm sure the talking would go much smoother if our throats aren't sore. Don't you agree?"

"Excellent idea," Fusutsuka replied. "I think we all can use some tea now." He motioned for a servant that had been patiently waiting in a corner. Naruto wondered what she was doing there. If he were attending a secret conspiracy meeting, he wouldn't want any unnecessary witnesses, least of all some random maids. So was Fusutsuka so spoilt and stupid or was the girl something more, like an undercover trusted bodyguard? He watched how she moved as she poured the tea from a kettle, but he couldn't determine whether she had any combat training or not.

"Excellent tea," Katsumi commented after taking a sip, "but it's still missing something. "I have come upon an interesting custom recently in my travels. Did you know that the natives of Sea Country use lemon juice to spice their tea? It's really good, you should try it."

It took a moment for Naruto's clone to register the meaning of those words and then panic set in. Before he could thing of anything he could do, he was lifted from the tray by a calloused hand. A second later he disappeared in a puff of chakra when a knife cut into him. The three conspirators stared speechless.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Gardens~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The original Naruto had found himself a comfortable spot in one of the trees near the outer wall of the garden. He was well concealed and if worse came to worse and his clone was discovered, he could jump over the fence and run quickly. He didn't do it yet only because the lookouts on the wall seemed alert and he didn't want to be discovered unless absolutely necessary. If everything went right, he'd spend the night here and in the morning return to the kitchens to meet with Hotaru.

Suddenly a rush of memories assaulted him. 'Oh no,' he groaned inwardly, 'somebody wanted lemon in their tea.' He had completely forgotten about that possibility. 'What now?' The conspirators had already noticed that something was wrong. They might not realize what exactly it was, but they'd probably quickly come to the conclusion they had an eavesdropper. And then they would search for him. Naruto might try to claim ignorance, but he doubted it would help him. No, the best option was to get lost and do it fast.

He peeked through the foliage. The guards on the wall were patrolling dutifully, but their attention was focused outwards. He could do it if he was fast enough. He had already turned his garb the ugly side up, so the bright colors wouldn't give him away. He concentrated on remaining unseen. It was often enough for people not to notice he was there. He never figured how did it work, but it often helped him remain undetected. And sometimes it failed utterly, most often on the occasions when he really needed it.

He looked at the sky. The full moon was shining today, but there were clouds drifting across the sky, occasionally covering it. And it looked like one was heading there right now. The young chuunin considered his option. He could take one long jump over the wall, but that would cause the leaves to rustle and give away his position. Nobody had sounded the alarm yet, so he figured he still had a little time before they would come looking for him. He opted for stealth instead.

He quietly dropped to the ground and ran towards the wall, flattening himself against it. Now the guards would have to look straight down to notice him. Now he only had to wait for the cloud to cast its shadow over them.

"Intruder!" shouted a vaguely familiar voice from the direction of the garden pavilion. 'Probably one of the samurai,' Naruto thought. The lookouts on the wall turned to face the voice. 'Crap, they'll spot me anytime now,' thought the disguised boy. There was no more time for stealth. With one chakra-powered leap he reached the top of the wall. The soldiers turned towards him in surprise. Before they could do anything else, he jumped again, landing a good way from the wall.

"There is he!" somebody yelled. Naruto didn't bother to turn around. He just ran like his life depended on it, mostly because it did.

He took a moment to survey his surroundings. There was nothing but grass where he was standing. To the right of him, there was the steep drop with the river somewhere deep below. In front of him and to his left was more of the grassy hillside. There was nothing to hide behind. It made him feel like a practice target. In no time now the guards will take out their bows and try to shoot him into his back. He pumped more chakra into his legs and ran faster.

He heard an officer giving an order. He couldn't hear the bows being pulled back, but he certainly imagined it. He joined his hands in a series of seals. As the arrows sprang forward, he turned around. 'Fuuton: Daitoppa' flew against the projectiles, swiping them away from their trajectories. The blast went on, reaching the wall and the soldiers. Its strength was dissipated over the distance, but yet the men had to brace themselves. One of them was caught off-balance and fell.

Startled shouts reached Naruto's ears. Most of them were merely expletives, but there was several "It's a ninja!" as well. The young chuunin paid no heed to it. He continued running. Soon he would be out of range and they wouldn't be able to touch him again. They weren't what worried him. He was more concerned about the shinobi that were sure to come after him soon. Now the only question was where to go. Should he head to the city and warn the girls, simultaneously putting them in danger, or should he head to the wilds, hoping to lose pursuit there? He had spent better part of the evening deliberating on it and couldn't come to a conclusion. Then he grinned. When in doubt… He created ten Shadow Clones and had them spread in different directions. He himself headed for the town. He was almost at the outskirts when he noticed his pursuer.

* * *

And that's it for today.

Next time: Who knows? I got bitten by two plot bunnies simultaneously and now they have a battle over which one should be written.


	37. Fighting

**Author's note:** After a long vacation, this story finally resumes. So sorry to let you all hanging for so long, but this chapter just didn't want to be written and fought me tooth and nail in every paragraph. Fortunately in the end the author prevailed and so here comes the next installment of your (hopefully still) favourite story. Pray with me that the next chapters would be easier to write.

Enough of my rambling, now on with the story.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Nothing changed during the summer holidays.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shimo square~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nukui was bored. When he had finally graduated from the Kumo Shinobi Academy and was assigned to a team, he had expected all sorts of exciting missions and wonderful adventures. Instead he got stuck on the horror otherwise known as D-ranks and even after they received their first C-rank, nothing interesting had happened. They just got stuck guarding a pottery merchant who nobody wanted to steal from. Even when they had travelled through an area notoriously known for being infested by highwaymen, nothing of note occurred, if you don't count the time one of the wagons got stuck in the mud and they had to help getting it out, which ended with Nukui falling face first into said mud. Needless to say, it wasn't the kind of excitement he had wished for, though his teammates and sensei were highly amused.

"I wish something happened," he said to the dark and nearly deserted plaza.

"And just what would you want?" Ai, his kunoichi teammate asked sarcastically. "A heroic battle? Don't be silly. You'd just get yourself killed."

"I can take care of myself!"

"Yeah, we saw enough proof of that," she grimaced, but the expression wasn't visible on her dark face, so the irony was completely lost on Nukui. "Just be glad nothing happened and you'd be able to add a successful C-rank to your record."

"I'd rather add some kills to it," Nukui replied. "Maybe even ninja kills. Now that would look great on my resume!"

"Not likely to happen," Ai smirked.

"Quit it, the two of you," their third teammate interjected. "On case you've forgotten, we're on duty here."

"Oh, we remember, don't worry, Yuu," the kunoichi replied.

"I just don't understand why all the three of us have to be on guard," Nukui complained.

"Because it's an order, dummy," Ai scolded.

"I know it's an order, I just don't understand the reason behind it," the young genin complained. "It's completely deserted around here! And it's not like anyone would ever want to steal some old cracked pots!" He threw his arms around so wildly that he nearly knocked over one pitcher.

"Be careful," the girl snapped. "You don't want us to fail our first real mission due to your own clumsiness! Now how would that look on your record?"

"It's not like anyone would miss that ugly thing," he huffed. "How can that guy even know how many of them he has?"

"I assure you he knows very well," Ai informed him. "And if you break it, you would have to pay it from your mission wages; that is if we get paid at all. He might just say we failed the mission if we couldn't protect his goods from ourselves. And you don't want to know what Kei-sensei would have to say about that." Nukui involuntarily shuddered. He most certainly didn't want to get on the bad side of the jounin. But he covered up his slip of composure quickly.

"Still, I want to see some action."

"Guys?" Yuu spoke in a grave tone.

"What is it?" his teammates asked in unison.

"Do you hear that?" He didn't have to specify. The sound of multiple running footsteps was nearing them rapidly.

"What's going on?" Nukui mused aloud.

"I think you're about to get your wish granted," Ai answered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near the city~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto pumped more chakra to his legs. His strained muscles protested vehemently, but he carried on. But he could already tell that it won't be enough. Despite his increased speed, the sounds of his pursuer were nearing. He had already reached the first shacks at the edges of the city, but that meant nothing. The inhabitants were either sleeping or trembling in fear and he couldn't count at managing to hide himself among them. Not from a competent ninja and that was exactly what his pursuer was. Most likely even a jounin. He wrecked his brain for a possible way out of this mess, but he came empty. He might try to get the girls' help, but if the shinobi on his tail was really good, it won't be enough. So maybe he shouldn't expose them. But how would he relay his findings to them? He still had a mission to complete.

He checked how much chakra he had left. The results weren't heartening. He wasn't exactly exhausted yet, but making so many clones had taken a good deal from him. And it did nothing to deter his pursuer. How could he tell which was the real one? Was it just luck or did he have a way? If so, then there was no point in trying again. But if not...

'Here goes nothing,' thought Naruto as he clasped his hands in the familiar cross-shaped seal. In a puff of smoke, four clones materialized around him. They all mingled for a moment to confuse the enemy and then took of in five different directions. Naruto himself took a sharp turn to the right. But before they could disappear from the street fully, there was a sharp hiss in the air and senbon started raining from the sky. Naruto avoided them thanks to a headfirst dive to the nearest alley, but three of his clones weren't so lucky. The needles hit them and they dissolved back into raw chakra. With only two possible targets the pursuer didn't have a hard time deciding where to go. He quickly created a clone, Naruto couldn't tell which kind, and pursued both.

He took another sharp turn, hoping that the older man wasn't so agile and that he might gain some ground. It worked only partially. The man lost a couple of paces, but covered the lost distance in mere seconds.

The young chuunin swore inwardly. The situation had just gone from bad to worse. Not only he couldn't shake off his tail, he now confirmed it was a highly skilled ninja, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to hit his clones at such distance. He reckoned now was a good time to pray for a miracle. Too bad he didn't believe in gods. Only demons, and he sure as hell didn't want to ask the Kyuubi for help. Not if he could help it. Not even if it should kill him. Well, maybe if it should kill him. But otherwise not a chance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~City streets~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A low dog's growling sounded through the otherwise silent night.

"What is it?" Hotaru asked.

"A lot of chakra being thrown around," Hana translated. "It looks like there's a battle going on."

"Do you think Naruto got discovered?" the purple-haired girl worried.

"What else could it be?" The Inuzuka replied.

"You're right," Hotaru sighed. "So are we going?"

"Do you have to ask?"

"No. Lead on." The two girls and three dogs quickly disappeared in the dark streets.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Streets of Shimo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto had been able to keep most of his lead through a series of sharp twists and turns. He even managed to gain a bit of a distance when his pursuer had tried roof-hopping, but the old thatched roof gave way under him and he fell straight into someone's house. The angry shrieks of its inhabitants followed them for quite a time before they were muffled by the distance. But then suddenly his luck had run out. Instead of the maze of narrow streets, he found himself on a spacious square. And there was no time to turn back and try to hide. The enemy jounin was nearly breathing down his neck. Naruto's overactive imagination even supplied the touch of hot air on his scalp.

But he couldn't give up yet. The situation wasn't completely hopeless yet, or so he told himself. The square wasn't empty. There were stalls built there for the great market and other entertainment accompanying the festival. With any luck there might be something he could use to slow down or even stop his pursuer.

As it was, luck wasn't on his side tonight. Soon after he ran past a few stalls, he heard a sound from close ahead. He couldn't be sure, but it sounded like a blade being drawn. There were people ahead! And considering where they were, he couldn't count on them being friendly.

He ducked left. He didn't even know why he did it, he didn't sense any immediate danger, but it had occurred to him that he should do something.

"Stop him!" his pursuer shouted.

'Great,' Naruto thought. 'So they are together. Just my luck to run straight into a trap.'

He heard footsteps from ahead and then a kunai came sailing past his ear from ahead. It was almost too easy to dodge, which should have warned him, but he failed to take the clue. So the explosion from behind took him completely by surprise and flung him into the nearest stall.

'Curse it,' he thought trying to untangle himself from the cloth that had been covering the goods. He could hear multiple footsteps coming close. He had to do something quickly.

Fortunately he managed to free his head so he could see. He noticed a barrel standing not too far from him and performed a quick Kawarimi. It served to free him from the cloth. He glanced over his shoulder to find out what his pursuers were doing. The jounin was further away than he remembered; the explosion must have delayed him as well. He could see two others as well, a boy and girl, both of them about twelve and neither of them wearing a flak jacket. So genin then. But if they were a standard team, there should be...

He didn't have the time to finish the thought when his ears caught a soft rustle right behind him. He threw himself to the side and another young boy came crashing down at the spot of ground he had occupied less than a second before. Naruto didn't waste any time and kicked the side of the young shinobi's head before he had the chance to stand up. The genin collapsed with a yell. Naruto paid him no further mind and ran.

He didn't get far. He suddenly noticed the jounin right in front of him. 'How did he get there so fast?' Naruto mused. 'Or did I lose my sense of direction and ran into him?' There was no time to contemplate it. His most pressing concern was getting away from him. His hands itched for the hilt of his ninjato, but he didn't have it on him. In fact, for the sake of his cover, he didn't have a single weapon on him. It sucked big time. So ninjutsu was his only option. He had no time to form seals, but fortunately he knew a way around the problem. He took a deep breath, filling the air in his lungs with chakra and converting it to Wind. Than he screamed. The jounin's eyes widened, as the tiny blades cut into him. Then he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto threw himself to the ground just in time to avoid a hail of senbon from behind. One quick glance shoved him the enemy jounin, who he thought he recognized as Kei, bleeding from a number of small cuts, but lacking any serious injury. 'Well, I didn't really expect this will finish him off,' Naruto thought, 'but what can I do now?' Before he could come up with an answer, he heard footsteps behind him. One glance over his shoulder revealed the genin team assuming battle formation. He was surrounded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Market square of Shimo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nukui was excited. This was what he had been hoping for! Some real action and against some real ninja! Sure, she was just a little shrimp, but she had managed to draw blood from Kei-sensei and that was something. They had yet to reach the same achievement during their team training. But now they had her surrounded with nowhere to run. It was going to be a piece of cake. He was going to pay her back for the kick to his cheek. He was going to pound her to the ground. Sensei was going to be proud of him and he will be famous and he'll make chuunin soon ... Yes, it was all he could hope for on a mission like this.

He saw the girl turning towards him, her hands already clasped in a seal. He raised his kunai. He wasn't going to let her finish her jutsu, whatever it was.

He wasn't fast enough. With a puff of smoke, two clones appeared beside her. 'Just Bunshin?' Nukui thought. 'That's the stupidest trick the Academy taught. This is going to be a piece of cake.' He barely finished his thought when the clones attacked simultaneously. He swung his kunai at the middle one, the one he thought was the original, but the little child evaded easily. Small hands grabbed on his forearm and before he realized what was going on, he was lifted in the air and thrown towards his sensei. Kei easily sidestepped and Nukui sailed past him. He had just enough time to wonder how could such a small girl have so much strength, when he landed on a nearby stall and heard something breaking. It scared him, but than the lack of agonizing pain let him know that the broken things weren't his bones. He got up and dusted himself off. He took in his surroundings as he was doing so. All around him were lying shards of inferior-quality ceramics and the remains of disturbingly familiar stand. 'Crap' was all that went through his mind at the moment. Their client wasn't going to be happy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The plaza~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto's heart was beating fast. His plan to use the Kumo genin team, he finally got a good look at their headbands, as human shields yielded only partial success. One of his clones was destroyed by the kunoichi before it could do anything, and the other one was locked in a furious battle with one of the boys until his teammate came to his assistance. But at least he managed to slip between them and now the jounin had to run around his own team to get to him. The chuunin hoped he had managed to wound the boy he had thrown; if the Kumo shinobi had to give him medical assistance, it would slow them down. But luck really wasn't on his side tonight. The Kumo team was already back on their feet and ready to chase him again. He couldn't come up with anything better to do but run.

He was sure this was going to be the end of him. They were gaining on him. Then the yellow glow of a Lightning jutsu lit up the night and he was sure he was done for. But the pain never came. Instead he could hear painful grunts from behind. He chanced a glance over his shoulder. The three Kumo genin were down on the ground, only one of them trying to get up. The jounin seemed unharmed, but he was looking around searching for the threat. Then four furry tornadoes came charging at him and his students. The jounin dodged, but the genin getting up was pummeled to the ground.

Naruto shouted in joy. The girls had arrived! Maybe he won't die here tonight! But it was still too early for celebration. There was still a jounin out to get him.

Lightning crackled again and there was a hiss of pain. Naruto couldn't tell who did it come from. He stopped running. Now the whole team was assembled, they could fight. But first he had to do something about his current unarmed state. He ran to the downed genin and quickly relieved him of his weapon pouch. He strapped the bag on his own leg in record time and looked inside. Fully stocked on kunai and shuriken and there were even some Exploding Tags inside. Perfect. He still missed his sword, but at least he didn't feel naked anymore.

He looked around to assess the situation. Both Hotaru and Hana were now engaging the Cloud jounin. He didn't know how they would fare against him, so he had to hurry. He was alone to deal with the three genin. One of them was still down after Hana's Tsuuga, but the other two were already getting up. Naruto jumped to the closer one, a dark-skinned boy, and kicked him in the temple hard. The young ninja slumped to the ground unconscious. That left him alone with the girl.

The kunoichi was already standing, holding a kunai in each hand. Naruto reached into his newly acquired pouch and took a pair of kunai of his own. He did it just in time; the Kumo kunoichi didn't wait on anything before attacking. He blocked her two stabs, but got caught by a kick to his side. Either she was pretty good for a genin, or Naruto was too exhausted to fight properly. He stumbled back. It was time to take this up a notch.

He charged Wind chakra into his blades. They weren't specially made for this and couldn't hold as much s he would have liked, but it was enough. The girl charged again. He blocked her attack, his kunai slashing through hers and leaving a deep gash on her forearm. She blinked in surprise, forgetting her concentration for a moment. It was all the Konoha chuunin needed. He kicked her into the stomach, hard. It knocked her to the ground.

Naruto quickly followed up his attack. He was at her side in a flash. She tried to stab him with his remaining kunai, but he evaded nimbly. He stepped on her wrist, making her let go of her weapon. Then he knelt and slammed the pommel of his kunai into her temple. She slumped unconscious alongside her teammates.

The Konoha chuunin breathed out a sigh of relief and looked how his own teammates were doing. It looked like the answer was not good. Hana got just thrown backwards by a vicious punch and Hotaru was clearly favoring her left leg. One of the Haimaru siblings was lying on the ground, nursing a wound. The Kumo jounin appeared unharmed.

The golden-haired boy pondered the best course of action. Kei had currently his back turned to him, so he might be able to take him by surprise. But it was a tricky prospect. Nobody made jounin by letting their enemies sneak up on them.

He shot one last glance to the downed genin team. None of them had a sword, so he'd have to make do with just kunai. And of course there was still his new technique. It was still far from perfect and he was tired, but he was confident he could successfully use it in battle now, if only for a short period of time. He channeled chakra to his forearms, made it whirl around them and sharpened it into countless tiny Wind blades. Then he dashed forward.

Kei blocked a wild sword swipe from Hotaru and aimed a kick at her midsection, forcing her to take a step away. Then he turned around to face the charging Naruto. The blond chuunin had barely time to look surprised when the man stabbed his kunai at him viciously. He narrowly avoided the hit meant for his head and thrust forwards his right arm. The jounin blocked with his left arm, but the Wind-sharpened edge cut through his blade. His eyes widened a bit, but he evaded quickly, avoiding any serious injury, only a thin red line appearing on his forearm. His right arm sprung in counterattack.

Naruto saw the move, but was too slow to react in the nick of time. He brought his arms up to block, but he didn't make it. The kunai hit his left shoulder. Fortunately it was only a flesh wound, but it still hurt. He cried out in pain, but didn't back off. His right arm continued on its course, hitting the outstretched arm of the Cloud jounin. The man screamed as the rotating Wind blades dug into his flesh. He jumped back. Then he was forced to dodge an attack from Hotaru, which brought him into the range of Hana's dogs. Snapping teeth grazed his ankle. By that time, Hana got back on her feet and rejoined the fray. For a moment, things looked up. Then suddenly a hail of shuriken flew through the air, forcing the trio of Leaf chuunin to back off from their opponent.

Naruto turned around to see the newcomer. He recognized him immediately. How could he have forgotten about him? It was the other ninja that had been present at the clandestine meeting. It took him a long time to catch up with them, but now that he was here, things were about to get really ugly.

Naruto turned towards the newcomer; Katsumi was his name? He thought so. The chuunin tried to stand in guard stance, but a sharp pain in his left shoulder made him wince. It seemed that the wound was more severe than he thought; he had trouble moving his arm. He grabbed the injury with his other hand. It was bleeding profoundly.

Katsumi moved to attack and Naruto crouched to defend. In the meager light of the crescent moon, he noticed the blood glittering on his right hand, flowing towards the thin red line. 'Crap' was all he had time to think before it touched and a red heat came alive within his body.

"No!" he screamed. He wouldn't succumb to it. He couldn't let that stupid furball control his body again. He would fight for dominance and would show the fleabag where his place was: behind the bars of his cage.

'Hear it, Fuzzball?' he shouted internally. 'Stay where you are!'

"_**Make me!" **_the Bijuu answered.

'I will,' Naruto promised determinedly. The beast laughed in response.

"_**You're welcome to try."**_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Shimo plaza~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana was just getting up after being sent flying by a kick to her stomach (again!), when she suddenly felt the presence of the sinister red chakra. She looked up and saw Naruto's form enveloped in the all too familiar red haze.

'Oh, hell,' she thought. 'Will he get berserk again? Should we run for our lives now or should we capitalize on this opportunity?' She took a look around. The Haimaru siblings were whining in fear, their tails between their legs. Hotaru was quickly limping away. The two enemy ninja were watching the spectacle in confusion. Particularly the jounin they had fought had his back turned to her, not seeming to realize she was still here. It was an opportunity too good to pass. She sprung to her feet as quickly as she could. Then she shot forward in the spin of Tsuuga. Kei had noticed her at the last moment, but it was too late for him to dodge completely. The furry tornado caught his flank, the Inuzuka's iron-hard claws digging deep into his belly.

Hana stopped spinning and landed. She looked at Naruto. He was still surrounded by the cloak of Kyuubi's chakra, glowing menacingly, one tail swinging behind him, advancing on his enemy, who was backing off slowly. She could tell that he wasn't in control of his body anymore. There was only one thing she could do now. She picked up her wounded dog and ran after Hotaru.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's mindscape~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sinister red chakra was flooding through the bars of the cage and the Fox was grinning victoriously.

"_**See your defeat, puny mortal," **_the demon spoke with glee.

"In your dreams," Naruto replied with determination. "I forced you back once before and I can do it again."

"_**In your dreams," **_Kyuubi echoed his earlier words.

"Don't be so cocky," the Jinchuuriki chided. "Last time you took me by surprise. This time I know what to do." He strode purposefully to the seal. The flow of red chakra intensified, solidifying in to a wall blocking his path.

"_**What makes you think I'll let you do it?" **_ the kitsune growled.

"What makes you think I'll let you stop me?" the boy replied nonplussed. He plunged straight into the wall. It wasn't as solid as it appeared, but it resisted his progress valiantly. But he was relentless. Step by step, he made his way forward until he could touch the seal. The little tear he had mended during the battle in the fields was torn open again. He laid his hand on it and pushed his chakra into it. The Kyuubi screamed in rage and tried to knock him away, but he held fast. Soon the sinister flow was stopped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Market square~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He came to. He was still on the plaza and it was still night. In front of him lay the three genin from Kumo. They were still unconscious. He looked around. A few steps behind he could see one half of Katsumi. He couldn't see the rest of him anywhere. It was probably somewhere among the many overturned stalls. He shuddered with the realization that it was probably his doing (he couldn't remember and he was glad for it). He was just relieved he wrestled the control back before the Kyuubi could do even more damage. He didn't know how he would cope if he had torn apart the three children before him. (The fact that they were all older than him didn't seem relevant.) Or if he attacked his teammates again. That was something he really wouldn't be able to live with.

Speaking of the girls, where were they? He couldn't see them anywhere.

'I hope they got away alright,' he thought. He jogged to the spot where he last saw them fighting. There was a large puddle of blood. Naruto followed it. It led under a fallen table. Underneath two big feet were sticking out. He recognized them as belonging to the Kumo jounin. It appeared the man had been wounded and then tried to crawl away, when the stall had fallen on him. And considering the sheer weight of blacksmith's goods lying atop him, it was unlikely that he was still alive. 'One accounted for,' Naruto thought. 'But where are Hana and Hotaru?'

Then he noticed a second, thinner blood trail leading away. 'So that's where they went,' he thought pleased that his teammates had indeed gotten away relatively unharmed. There wasn't enough blood to signify a serious wound.

He followed after them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nukui slowly woke up. His whole body hurt and his head was the worst off. What had happened? Did he steal his father's sake and got drunk again? He swore he'd never do something so stupid again after the resulting hangover, beating and grounding.

"Don't move," Ai's grave voice interrupted his thoughts. "You might have a concussion."

"What happened?" he inquired.

"Don't you remember? We were in a battle yesterday," the kunoichi explained.

"Oh." Now it was coming back to him. The appearance of Kei-sensei pursuing a young child, his elation upon finally seeing some action, and then his delusions of grandeur being shattered by a small slip of a girl that couldn't have been any older than ten, if that. It was utterly humiliating.

"How did it end?" He wasn't sure he really wanted to know.

"It seems we've lost," she informed him. "I wasn't exactly conscious to see it, but Kei-sensei was badly wounded and the enemy was nowhere in sight."

Nukui grimaced and slowly sat up. For the first time, he took in the devastation scene that used to be the busy marketplace just yesterday.

"What the hell happened here?" he wondered aloud.

"I have no idea," the kunoichi replied, "but somehow I think I'm lucky I wasn't awake to see it."

"Me too," he replied.

"We're lucky to be alive."

"Yes," he said looking at a nearby pile of ceramic shards. "But how are we going to explain it to the client?"

* * *

And that's it for today.

Next time: Whatever I write, probably the way home and a plot twist I've been building for.


	38. A whirlwind of events

**A.N.:** Another update here. I got into the story again, so more updates might be coming soon.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. After some of the recent chapters, I'm glad I don't. I'd have to be ashamed of myself.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Outskirts of Shimo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Now this is one mission I'd rather omit from my resume," Hotaru muttered through clenched teeth as Hana was working on her injured leg.

"Why?" Naruto asked. He had returned to his real appearance and he couldn't help but feel immensely relieved. The itching on his cheeks had been slowly driving him crazy. It was even worse than the pain in his shoulder the Kyuubi's healing factor was still mending. "We beat a jounin or two. I'm not sure how good the second guy was."

"But beating up jounin wasn't in our mission description," the purple-haired kunoichi pointed out. "We were supposed to find out what the daimyo was up to."

"I spied on his meeting," Naruto reminded her.

"And did you find out his plans?" the girl asked.

"Well, no," he admitted, "but he is definitely up to something."

"I don't think that's enough," Hotaru said.

"Well, it probably isn't, but at least the daimyo... eh, I forgot his name again, at least he now knows for certain there's something up. And we can go back and try to find out more!" the boy suggested.

"Naruto," Hotaru spoke slowly, "I've heard many stupid ideas from you, but this one takes the prize. The two ninja certainly weren't alone and the city is now on full alert. There will be others after our hides soon. We're stopping now only so we can run faster afterwards. So don't tell me we should go back now."

"Maybe nobody would expect us to do something so stupid and won't look for us there?" She shot him an incredulous look. "Maybe not. Forget it. I got carried away. So when are we going again?"

"As soon as Hotaru can run again," Hana answered. "I'm almost finished healing her wound. We should be glad it wasn't even worse."

"It's pretty bad as it is," Hotaru remarked. "I wonder what kind of diplomatic incident we caused today."

"At least it's just some Frost Country," Naruto said. "It's pretty far from Konoha. Whatever comes out of this, it shouldn't concern us."

"We can only hope that you're right."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Fields close to Shimo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A dog whined.

"We picked a tail," his mistress announced.

"Already?" Naruto sighed.

"I'm more surprised it took them that long," Hotaru remarked. "We spent a long time getting ourselves back into shape."

"How many are there?" Naruto asked.

"Three, I think," Hana answered after a short growled conference with her familiars.

"That's good, since there are three of us as well," the boy smiled.

"Yes, but there's no way I can tell how strong they are," Hana replied.

"Well. At least we aren't outnumbered." The boy tried to keep a positive outlook on things.

For a while they ran in silence, Hana and the Haimaru siblings occasionally sniffing the air.

"They're catching up to us," the Inuzuka announced.

"Shall we try to outrun them?" Naruto suggested.

"I can't go any faster," Hotaru shook her head. "My leg still hurts."

"So we'll have to fight again," the boy concluded.

"Yes," Hana agreed. "But this time we can prepare."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On a dirt road~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hibiki stopped in his tracks suddenly. One of his teammates bumped into him.

"Watch out, Noburu," Hibiki admonished him.

"And you don't stop for nothing," Noburu grumbled.

"I think he has a reason," Kotone, their other teammate, interrupted.

"You're right," Hibiki nodded. "Look at the tracks. They're turning right here."

"Then why don't we turn too?" Noburu asked.

"Look there," Hibiki pointed ahead. "It's faint, but there's a footprint. I think they are trying to shake us by creating a false trail."

"So we're going forward," Noburu stated already making a step. Hibiki caught him. "Not so fast. I'm not sure which one of these trails is the decoy."

"Decide fast," Kotone said. "They're getting away from us."

"We won't catch them if we pick the wrong trail," Hibiki pointed out.

"Can't we just split?" Noburu suggested.

"Do you think you can take on them alone?" Kotone asked sarcastically.

"I'm strong," Noburu boasted. "Not like a certain somebody."

"Can't you shout any louder?" Hibiki chastised him. "If they didn't know we were after them, now they certainly do."

"Can't you finally decide on a trail?" Noburu complained. "They'll go away if we'll spend the night here."

"Well, I think they went left," Hibiki decided.

"Left? But there's no trail," Kotone pointed out.

"That's it," Hibiki explained. "Both of those trails are obviously false. That means they went somewhere else. They're ninja. They're deceptive. Right?"

"Wrong," a voice said behind them. They whirled around and stared into the darkness, searching for its source. That's why their eyes were wide open when the Flash Tag went off, blinding all three of them. They heard kunai whistling through the air. They couldn't see it, but they could hear it went wide. Hibiki threw a handful of shuriken in the general direction he thought the kunai had come from. Before they could land, an Explosive Tag went off around the kunai handle, knocking the three of them to the ground. Then the darkness spat out the attackers. Kotone was stabbed with a kunai to her neck before she could get up from the ground. Hibiki managed to block the first strike, but then sharp teeth bit into his leg. He cried out in pain. He didn't even see the second strike coming. Noburu put up the best fight. He had just enough time to blow his special whistle, whose sound made his opponent lose his sense of balance and fall to his knees. Then he kicked and knocked the attacker away. His victory was short-lived. The boy's teammates were on him before he could say 'crap.' One well-aimed kick relieved him of his whistle. The last thing he knew were a dog's fangs sinking into his throat.

"That was easy," Hotaru observed. "Almost like killing civilians."

"I really expected them to put up a better fight," Hana mused. "We only wasted an Explosive Note."

"What was that sound?" Naruto asked getting from the ground.

"It somehow upset your inner ear," the vet explained. "I was far enough from it and I felt queasy."

"So what now? This lightshow must have attracted attention," Hotaru remarked.

"Yes, we should get away soon," the clan heiress agreed, "but first we'll have to take care of the bodies."

"Do we have the time for that?" Naruto questioned.

"There's a moat over there. Let's just dump them there," the dog mistress decided. "But first let's take their equipment."

"That strange hitai-ate again," Naruto spoke studying Noburu's headband. "I expected them to be from Kumo, but there's the strange note instead."

"You're right," Hotaru commented. "I wonder what that means, but something tells me it's nothing good."

"And you're not the only one," Hana frowned. "Let's take them with us. Too bad we can't take the bodies too."

"Sorry, my sealing skills still need some work," Naruto grimaced.

"Now stop talking and let's hurry. Do I have to remind you we're in trouble here?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daimyo's compound~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daimyo Fusutsuka was in a really, really bad mood. Not only he didn't get enough sleep during the night, but the festival had just turned into a disaster and he was swarmed with damage reports and petitions from various merchants complaining about insufficient public security and demanding compensation for their destroyed goods. And they were no small sums. He was convinced that they all added at least one extra zero to every amount, but there was no way he could prove it. He sighed and rubbed his temples. Not only there was the real material damage, there was also the blow to his reputation. Once the Hot Springs Country daimyo heard about this... he could just imagine him rolling on the floor with laughter. This image only served to infuriate him further.

He took the scroll he was reading and threw it across the room. It flew through the air, hit the paper shoji door and tore a hole through the priceless hundred-year old painting adorning it. He scowled. That incident was causing him more and more trouble. Damn those ninja. Have they ever heard about the word 'restraint'? He seriously doubted it. At least the square had been deserted, so there weren't other victims than Katsumi.

There was a tap on the door and a servant poked her head inside.

"What is it?" he snapped.

"There's a messenger for you," the maid snapped.

"Another one?" It was all he could do not to groan. He really could do without any more complainers. But he couldn't kick anyone out; more bad publicity was another thing he could do without. "Send him in," he commanded. The door slipped fully open and in walked a girl. He immediately noted that she was a pretty thing, with her pale skin, grey eyes and shiny platinum blond hair, and it improved his mood somewhat. Pity she was too young for his tastes.

"So what message do you bear?" he asked. She pulled a small scroll from her sleeve.

"My master sends you this," she said offering the message to him. He took it and read through its contents. It contained references to yesterday's disaster meeting. So she was from Kei.

At the end of the message, there was one question. _'Do you accept?' _Yesterday, he had been hesitant. The whole enterprise was quite risky. But now... Things had changed a lot since yesterday. He took his brush and wrote one word into the scroll before handing it back to the girl.

"Take it back to your master," he commanded. She bowed deeply and left.

Once he was alone again, he had no more mind for the petitions. For a moment, he wondered whether he had made the right decision, but then he squashed the doubts. Once he had taken the step, there was no going back. And if he wanted to follow through with it, he had a lot of work to do.

He could only hope he hadn't just made a deal with the devil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They made it. They considered it a miracle and neither of them was sure how did they accomplish it, but they all returned home in one piece. They had to fight a lone ninja that had located them and hide from a large patrol. They somehow made it to a small port town and took a ship to Fire Country, all the way worrying that somebody was going to find and sink them. When their ship docked in Port City, they jumped down on the pier and kissed the soil of their homeland. Especially Hotaru, who had gotten seasick. Then they ran to Konoha at top travel speed. They couldn't help but worry that somebody had followed them and would attack any minute. Once they walked through the gates, they realized that the worst part of the mission was still before them: They had to explain the fiasco to the Hokage.

Saying that Sarutobi wasn't happy would be an understatement. Fortunately he didn't think it was entirely their fault either. Their mission was marked as failure, but they were commended for bringing the three strange headbands. Then they were dismissed. Hotaru headed for the hospital to have her leg checked over and Hana went to the Inuzuka clan compound to treat her one injured dog. Naruto walked straight home. He hoped Tenzo would be finally back. He hadn't seen his guardian in what felt like a very long time. But he was out of luck. Tenzo still wasn't home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So where's the fire, sensei?" a tall, ridiculously dressed white-haired man asked instead of greeting the moment he climbed through the window. "I almost caught up to Tsunade-hime just before I got your letter."

"Then why didn't you bring her with you?" Sarutobi asked.

"You said you wanted to see me in an urgent matter," Jiraiya answered

"I didn't say it was that urgent," the Hokage pointed out.

"Well, she gave me the slip," the spymaster admitted. "You know how she is."

"I do," Sarutobi sighed.

"So what's the matter?"

"Lots of things are the matter. Sit down and I'll explain."

Some time later the Hokage finished his explanation. The Toad Sage rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"So let me get this straight: You want me to fix whatever is wrong with Naruto's seal, find Tsunade and investigate the origins of these headbands, all at the same time?"

"That's about it," the elderly man nodded.

"Geez, sensei, you certainly know how to make us busy," Jiraiya remarked. "This is no small task."

"And you're no ordinary ninja," Sarutobi pointed out. "Or do you say this is more than you can do?"

"I never said that," the Toad Sage grinned. "After all, I'm one of your best."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Training grounds~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was systematically demolishing a training post. The last mission had reminded him just how important his training was. Even if it pained him, he had always known that his chances against a jounin were slim and the recent happenings showed him that he might run into one literally anywhere. And he might not be armed when it happened. That was why he was practicing his new technique. Once he mastered it, there would be no more 'unarmed' for him. He would be able to turn his arms into deadly weapons anytime.

He concentrated on the flow of the Wind chakra around his forearms and punched. He took a step backwards to examine his results. There was a good chunk of the wood missing. Naruto sighed. He was improving, but it wasn't as fast as he'd like to. He still could hold the jutsu going only for a short time and he tended to lose his grip on it whenever something startled him. He reactivated the blades and tried again.

"That's an interesting jutsu you have there," a male voice stated right behind him. He whirled around, automatically assuming the on-guard position. He had no idea there was someone behind him until he spoke. He was usually quite good at detecting others' presences, but that stranger got a drop on him. If it had been an enemy, he would have been already dead.

"Not bad reflexes," the newcomer observed. Naruto didn't respond, instead surveying him carefully. His first impression was that the man was tall. Very tall. His second impression was that he had absolutely no fashion sense. The green part of his clothes wasn't so bad, but the red vest was outrageous. And who in their right mind wore geta anyway? How was he even able to walk in them? And let's not get even started on his hair. Such a long ponytail must be getting in the way constantly.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked cautiously.

"Who am I?" the stranger echoed. "You don't know who I am?" He sounded slightly offended.

"No," Naruto shook his head.

"I'll let you know, little one, I am famous far and wide, The great sage of Myoubokuzan, the charmer of ladies everywhere, and the author of the most famous book ever, the one and only Jiraiya-sama!" The man did a funny dance and whipped a familiar looking orange book from his pocked before striking what he must have considered a cool pose. Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"It's that book!" he shouted. "Don't tell me you're the one writing that!"

"I am!" Jiraiya boasted. "You know my work? Well, why do I even ask, everybody does! So are you a big fan?"

"No!" Naruto shouted turning red. The images from his undercover mission were still too vivid in his mind. "I'll never read this trash! Never!"

"My books aren't trash!" the porn writer protested. "They are the finest pieces of literature! Men everywhere agree!"

"Perverts," Naruto grimaced. He still couldn't get the sight of Daimyo Fusutsuka from his mind. "And you're the biggest one."

"Yes, A Super-pervert," Jiraiya nodded with a smile. "That's just what I am."

"And you're not even ashamed of it," the young chuunin scoffed.

"Why ever should I be?" the white-haired man looked genuinely puzzled. "It's quite a feat. Do you have any idea what hardships I have to go through on regular basis to gather the necessary research for my books?"

"I don't want to know," Naruto answered with a shudder.

"Well," Jiraiya looked a bit downcast, "maybe you're still too young to appreciate my genius properly. But give it a few years..."

"No!" the boy yelled. "Never!"

"You won't be so convinced when you grow up," the man insisted.

"I doubt it," Naruto stood his ground. "Anyway, is there a reason you came to bother me? You didn't interrupt my training just to show off your book, did you?"

"No, of course not," the self-proclaimed Super-pervert answered. "I wouldn't waste my precious time on a little brat who cannot appreciate my genius. There are so many sights to see, hot springs to visit, ladies to peep on..."

"Pervert," the blond scowled. "Get to the point or get out."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to be rude to your elders?" Jiraiya scowled back.

"You're a pervert," Naruto pointed out. "You don't count."

"Brat I already told you I'm not a pervert but a Super-Pervert!" the older man corrected him.

"Whatever." The chuunin realized that there was no point in arguing with this one. "So what did you want? In case you couldn't see, I was busy training here."

"Yes, I noticed," Jiraiya nodded. "Let me tell you, that is a very interesting technique you have there. I've never seen it before."

"Thank you," Naruto smiled. "I created it myself." He was proud at his accomplishment and always welcomed any praise, even if it came from old perverts.

"Is that so?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Than maybe you are worth my time."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Naruto frowned.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" The man looked surprised.

"No," the boy shook his head.

"I'm going to be training you," he announced.

"You?" Naruto looked at him dubiously. The man looked nothing like a ninja, but then, he was able to move stealthily.

"Yes, me," Jiraiya confirmed.

"But you're just a huge pervert!" Naruto shouted.

"Boy, didn't I already tell you! I'm the great sage of Mount Myobokuzan, The famous Jiraiya-sama!"

Something clicked in Naruto's head. His eyes widened.

"Jiraiya as in Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

"Yes," the man in question grinned, "that's me. Didn't you get it the first time?"

"I thought it was a coincidence," Naruto answered. "Jiraiya of the Sannin is a great ninja! You're a great pervert!"

"Your point?" The Gama Sennin raised an eyebrow.

Naruto remained silent. He looked at Jiraiya carefully. He could now tell that the man was muscular under his ridiculous attire and he noticed several bulges in his clothes that might or might not conceal hidden weapons. And he was able to get a drop on him. Reluctantly, he had to admit that under the goofy exterior the man could be a good ninja.

"Let's say I believe you," he said. "Why are you offering?"

"Oh, that wasn't an offer, that was an order," Jiraiya corrected. "Sensei told me you've been having some trouble with your little fuzzy friend. I'm here to find a solution."

"You can?" Naruto couldn't keep the eagerness from his voice. The image of the foreign ninja torn in half haunted his dreams ever since.

"If anyone can, it's me. The greatest sealmaster in Konoha, at least since Minato died." Jiraiya's eyes were filled with a faraway look. "Well, let me see your seal."

"Sure." Naruto was excited. He still wasn't convinced he should trust this Jiraiya, but he was desperate for anything that would solve his problem with the Kyuubi. And if the man was really as good as he was...

Jiraiya spent a long time examining the design on his stomach.

"I can't see anything wrong with it," he said.

"No?" Naruto was dejected.

"Tell me everything about your problem," the Toad Sage commanded. So Naruto did.

"I've never heard about anything like that before," the Sannin commented when he finished. "But then your seal is unique, so everything about it is the first time."

"So are you able to help?" Naruto inquired.

"I believe so, but it will take time," Jiraiya replied. "You'll have to come with me."

"Come with you?" the chuunin questioned. "To where?"

"Wherever I go," Jiraiya shrugged. "I have other duties, you know, and they consist mainly of information gathering. So you'll be going on a trip with me."

"A trip with the self-proclaimed Super pervert? Just great," Naruto muttered sarcastically.

"Do you want my help or not?" the aforementioned pervert asked.

"I do," Naruto admitted, "but I don't know if I can go."

"Of course you can. Sensei already agreed to it. Go pack your things. We'll be leaving tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tenzo's apartment~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was packing his things. He had already informed his teammates about his departure. Both of them were sad about the separation, but they wished him luck. They both agreed that a solution for his problem was a high priority. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were also relieved they would be looking for it somewhere faraway. It stung a bit, but he understood their feelings. He too was scared about what might happen if he lost control again.

The door creaked open. Naruto turned around to see who was coming. His face brightened in a wide grin when he recognized the newcomer.

"Tenzo!" he exclaimed. "You're back!"

"And it looks like you're just leaving," his caretaker replied.

"Yes," Naruto nodded a bit downcast. "So much happened."

"Care to tell me about it?" the jounin inquired.

"Sure."

They spent the evening talking. Naruto told all about his latest mission, his work on his new jutsu and his upcoming trip with Jiraiya. Tenzo told about the time he spent at the frontlines and the skirmishes he had fought in. They went out and had dinner at Ichiraku's, exchanging stories with Teuchi and Ayame.

It was a much happier chuunin who embarked on the road the next day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On the road~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That jutsu of yours is really interesting," Jiraiya remarked watching his young companion train. "It's quite unusual to use the whirling motion of chakra."

Three days had passed since they left Konoha and they'd spent them traveling. Jiraiya would occasionally stop to talk to a seemingly random person and in the evenings he would study Naruto's seal and the red line and scribble something in his notebook. Oh, and he would also ogle every pretty girl they came across, but it wasn't as bad as Naruto had feared. It seemed that even the Super-Pervert could be serious when the occasion called for it.

"So I've noticed," Naruto replied remembering his long, fruitless search in the library. "But it's highly effective."

"That it is," the Sannin agreed, "but I can't help but notice you having trouble."

"It's just a matter of concentration," the whiskered boy replied. "I'll just have to train more and I'll improve."

"It seems to be slow going, though," the Toad Sage observed.

"Don't I know," Naruto sighed.

"Hey, boy," Jiraiya said after a moment of consideration. "What about you'll take a break from this and I'll show you another jutsu?"

"You'll show me your jutsu?" Naruto exclaimed with eyes alight.

"It's not really mine," the Sannin admitted, "but you'll like it. And there's no-one else left alive who can teach you this."

"Great!" the chuunin exclaimed. "So what is it?"

"Watch."

Jiraiya extended his hand, palm upwards. A swirl of chakra appeared above it, quickly concentrating into a ball. Naruto watched with rapt fascination as he slammed it into a nearby tree trunk. There was a loud crackling sound and splinters flew everywhere. Jiraiya let his arm fall. A hole through the wood was revealed.

"Cool," whispered Naruto wide-eyed.

"See?" the white-haired man grinned. "I said you'd like it."

The chuunin didn't reply. He was staring intently at his palm, trying to form a whirl of chakra above it. Jiraiya was surprised as how well he was doing, but it was far from well-done. For once the shape was completely off.

"Whoa, boy, not so fast," he said. Naruto looked at him. "There are proper steps to the training. Let's start with the first one." He tossed a water ball and Naruto caught it.

"What's with that?" The boy eyed the thing curiously. It appeared to be a regular toy.

"That's the first step. You have to pop it. Look." The balloon in Jiraiya's hand bulged and exploded. "Now it's your turn."

Naruto nodded and the next moment the ball fell apart in ribbons.

"What did you do?" the Toad Sage asked.

"Popped the ball," the boy replied.

"No," Jiraiya shook his head, "you shredded it. That isn't the same as popping. Let me guess: you used Wind chakra."

"Yes," Naruto nodded.

"That's wrong," the older man replied. "The Rasengan uses purely neutral chakra."

"Why?" the child frowned. "Wouldn't it be more potent using Wind?"

"It would," Jiraiya agreed, "if you could make it work. The Rasengan is the highest-level shape manipulation. The chakra in it is concentrated to the max. The Yondaime tried for years to add element to it and failed. Changing your chakra into an element while maintaining the concentration necessary for the Rasengan is impossible."

"Why didn't he start with Wind then?" Naruto questioned.

"What?" The Gama Sennin looked puzzled.

"Why didn't he start with turning his chakra into Wind and then manipulating in the proper shape?" the chuunin elaborated.

"Even if he did, there would be still the problem of manipulating both the element and shape at the same time to such a high degree," Jiraiya answered.

"Why?" Naruto didn't understand.

"Didn't you hear me the first time?"

"I did," the boy answered, "but I don't understand why it is such a problem. Wind chakra is more potent than neutral. There's no need to keep it so concentrated to do the same amount of damage."

"Well," Jiraiya scratched his head, "that's something that requires more research. Unfortunately I'm not a Wind type."

"But I am," Naruto replied. "I can do it."

"Sure, but first learn the Rasengan properly. Here's another ball." It didn't pop as easily as the first.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Town~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once again, Jiraiya had left to talk with a shady-looking shopkeeper, leaving Naruto to his own devices. The young chuunin was currently wandering the marketplace, taking in the sights, sounds and smells. It was refreshing to be just another face in the crowd. Even though the hateful glares in Konoha had diminished over the years, people still tended to look at him oddly. But here nobody knew who he was.

As he was enjoying his freedom, he almost failed to notice Jiraiya's approach. But as soon as he spotted him, he could tell something was wrong. The Sannin's usual goofy grin seemed forced. For another person it would be hard to notice, but Naruto had some personal experience with faking expressions of happiness. He was just opening his mouth to ask what was wrong, when the older man beat him to it.

"We're going," he commanded. Naruto followed him without a word. He had never heard the Toad Sage being so serious.

"So what's wrong?" he asked once they had left the settlement behind.

"That's what I'd like to find out," Jiraiya replied. "I've just heard foreign shinobi were spotted nearby.

"Which ones?" the chuunin asked. He couldn't help but feel excited. Were they perhaps from that unknown village with the musical note they were looking for?

"My contact didn't know."

They spent the afternoon searching through the forests. Naruto was contemplating what shinobi could be at such a location. They weren't that far from the places he had travelled through with his team on the way to Frost Country. They were still in the Fire Country, but close to the borders with Hot Springs Country. It was a remote rural area and Naruto didn't know what anybody would want there. Even the trade routes between Fire and Lightning Countries were further north.

They were almost ready to call it a day, when Naruto spotted something.

"Hey, what's that?" he pointed at the northern horizon.

"Where?" Jiraiya looked.

"There, the smoke," Naruto elaborated.

"Oh that?" the man shrugged. "Somebody's cooking dinner."

"But it's big," the boy pointed out.

"You can see that?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "It's almost dark."

"Yes, I can," the jinchuuriki nodded. "I could always see well in the darkness."

"Than let's check it out," the Sannin decided and jumped through the treetops, Naruto at his heels.

As they were nearing it, Jiraiya frowned and his frown was deepening. Though the night was falling rapidly, it was now apparent that the smoke wasn't from a kitchen fire. Something much bigger was burning. And if he remembered correctly, the only thing big enough in that location was...

"Hey, what's that?" Naruto's voice interrupted his thoughts. The young chuunin was pointing at something in the undergrowth. Jiraiya stopped. The leaves and small branches were clearly broken and there was a darker stain visible. He brushed away the bushes, revealing what was concealed underneath. It was a body dressed in shinobi outfit.

"You have good eyes," Jiraiya commended. "I would have missed it."

"I smelled the blood," the demon vessel admitted. "So where is he from? Could he be from the mysterious village?"

"No," Jiraiya shook his head. "Look again." Now Naruto noticed what the older man was talking about. The ninja was from Konoha.

"Who did it?" he asked.

"I don't know," Jiraiya frowned, "but..."

"What?" Naruto prompted.

"That smoke... that's where a small outpost is."

"That's bad," Naruto grimaced.

"Let's go."

Once again they took to the trees. They noticed a couple more bodies before reaching the tiny fortress, or what was left of it. Somebody had burned it thoroughly. Naruto's breath caught in his throat. He had seen war before, but here they were far from the frontlines. There weren't supposed to be any enemies here.

"Do you think they are still here?" Naruto whispered.

"No," the Sannin shook his head. "I can't detect any chakra signature."

"Shall we pursue them?" the chuunin proposed.

"They just took out a whole outpost," Jiraiya reminded. "A small one, but still. There are only two of us. So you figure."

"So what are we going to do?" Naruto asked.

"Look for clues," the man answered, "what else."

They split up and searched the smoking ruin. Most of the bodies they discovered belonged to Konoha shinobi, but one was foreign.

"Kumo," Jiraiya stated when he saw it.

"What does it mean?" Naruto asked. He had the sinking feeling that he already knew.

"War."

* * *

A.N.: That's it for today. I originally planed the invasion to start while Naruto&co were still in Claw Country, but it didn't work out. So sorry if the last arc came out as fillerish.

Next time: More about the war and Naruto's training.


	39. Deadly Hide and Seek

**A.N.:** So I'm finally back with another chapter. Sorry it took so long, but I got distracted writing my other stories. And the latest chapters of the manga made me too disgusted. How much brainless can Kishimoto make Naruto without him being turned into a drone?

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I wouldn't be writing this fanfic if I did.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Burnt outpost~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jiraiya sent a message to the Hokage via one of his Toad summons. Naruto stared at it wide-eyed, but without his usual enthusiasm. The knowledge that a new enemy was entering the war and that it might be his fault (again) for screwing up the mission sent his thoughts straight into depression. The Gama Sennin seemed to pick on his mood.

"Hey, kid, don't be so down," he laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "If they wanted to join the war, they would have done it no matter what you did." It made the boy feel slightly better. "And now that you're done feeling sorry for yourself, we're going after them."

"But you've said..." the boy began, but the old man interrupted him.

"That there are too many to fight? Don't be ridiculous. I'm the Toad Sage," he reminded him, "I can take on them. And besides, we aren't going to get caught."

It didn't take them long to determine that the attackers left the same way they arrived. They followed their trail through the darkness towards the Hot Springs Country.

"Why didn't they move forward?" Naruto wondered. "There wasn't anything else blocking them that way."

"They weren't supposed to move forward," Jiraiya replied. "They were ordered only to destroy the stronghold and retreat."

"But why?"

"To clear the path," the white-haired man explained. "Now there is nothing to block the main force once it comes."

"Even so, shouldn't it be better if they moved forward as scouts?" the blond boy questioned.

"They were wounded and tired from the battle," Jiraiya pointed out. "The army has more scouts." Naruto nodded, but he still looked troubled.

"But if they are clearing the path for an army, doesn't it mean they're going to come this way?" the chuunin asked.

"It does," the Sannin confirmed.

"Aren't you worried we'll run into them?"

"We'll be careful." Naruto still wasn't convinced, but he understood that his opinion amounted to nothing. They set on the road again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hot Springs Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jiraiya had told Naruto to relax, but it wasn't as easy as it sounded. After the events of the previous day, the blond found it extremely hard to be anything else than anxious or tired. They had spent the night running through the trees, following the trail of the attack team. Then suddenly Jiraiya stopped and claimed they couldn't go any further. Naruto didn't see any reason for it, but he trusted the Sannin to know what he was doing. The Gama Sennin summoned several smaller toads and sent them forward as scouts. He didn't wait for their return and headed away in a perpendicular direction. When Naruto asked where they were going, he replied that there was nothing else they could do there and they were heading into a nearby town to rest. Naruto was glad to hear it. He really needed to rest.

They arrived into the town midmorning. Jiraiya booked them into an inn and told his young apprentice to catch some rest. He then left, claiming he was going to gather more information, but Naruto noticed the lecherous leer he was shooting towards the local onsen. He didn't point it out. He was too tired to argue. He lay onto to bed and closed his eyes, but sleep was avoiding him. The events of the night were still too fresh in his mind. He kept seeing the destroyed fortress and couldn't help but imagine that the Kumo army was going to appear any minute. Every footsteps coming near the room sounded like an enemy ninja approaching, even though he knew it wasn't so. If there really was an enemy shinobi, he wouldn't be able to hear them so easily, if at all.

Just as he almost managed to convince himself that there was nobody out to kill him tonight and he could really sleep, a loud explosion rocked the town. Naruto wasn't surprised that it came from the direction of the onsen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarutobi was massaging his temples, only barely suppressing the urge to bang his head on the table. As if the war against Iwa and Ame wasn't enough, one of Jiraiya's toads arrived recently to inform him that Kumo decided to join the fray. Then a messenger bird arrived from Hot Springs Country saying that they were being attacked and it sounded like there were two attackers: Kumo and Rice Field Country. And then another bird came, this time from Kumo. It informed him that they realized that the body of the Hyuuga who had killed their diplomat was fake (and it took them only six years to find out, great job!) and that they were declaring war on them. Open declaration meant only one thing: the army was already on its way. He had to act quickly if he didn't want them to knock on Konoha's gate within a week. Fortunately the Leaf still had plenty of reserves. He quickly scribbled some orders and sent his ANBU to deliver them. He could only hope that it would be enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hot Springs Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was on his feet before the echoes of the explosion quieted down. He grabbed his pouch, he hadn't bothered to undress, strapped it on and ran towards the source of the disturbance. What if Jiraiya needed his help? He didn't realize how absurd that notion was.

Locating Jiraiya was easy; the column of smoke was tell-tale. He was immensely relieved to see the Toad Sage unharmed.

"What happened?" he asked, scanning the surroundings for any sign of danger.

"Some young moron," the white-haired man replied. "He thought throwing around Exploding Tags was a good idea. Well, he won't be throwing them anymore."

"What are we going to do?"

"Leave," the Toad Sage replied. "I see you've already packed. Good, because I don't know when are we going to stop."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Will this never end?" Hotaru wondered aloud as they stood close to Konoha's gates, waiting for the signal to head out. They were one of the teams sent to deal with the new threat from Kumo. She couldn't help but think about their latest mission and whether there was something they could have done to prevent it. She knew that there probably wasn't, but she still couldn't stop wondering.

"I hope not," Hana replied. "It's been going on long enough."

"It barely began," Tenzo corrected her. "It's going to be a long time before it ends."

"Yes," the Inuzuka replied, "but I can always dream." It was nice to have their sensei back; with him they didn't have the responsibility for every decision and didn't have to worry so much about messing up. But their team wasn't complete. Naruto was off somewhere and they had no idea when (or if) they were going to see him again. Hotaru wondered whether he knew about the Kumo's invasion and whether they might perhaps meet him there.

"So you are going too?" a scathing voice interrupted the team's reunion. Hana slowly turned around. Sure enough, standing there was Tokiko, her face twisted in an ugly sneer, as was her customary expression whenever speaking to the Inuzuka heiress.

"Yes," the dog mistress replied evenly, "and nice to see you too."

"Good. Maybe you're going to die there like you deserve for leaving Tokita to die," the sister of her former teammate said.

"There you are!" a boy in green came running towards her. "Oboro-sensei wasn't happy with you running off on us. We're about to hit the road."

"It's not like I got lost, Noriaki," Tokiko snapped. "I was just talking to an old acquaintance."

"I see," Noriaki sighed. "Can't you forget your grudge for the time being? We're all on the same side here, in case you forgot."

"I didn't," the kunoichi answered. "But I'm not sure about her, she has a habit of abandoning her teammates. Look, she's missing one again."

"She does not," Hotaru interjected. "And shouldn't you return to your team? We're about to leave."

"Hmph," Tokiko scoffed. "This isn't over." But she allowed her teammate to lead her away.

"Why does she have to be here?" Hana muttered. Tokiko's comments cut her deep. She though she was over the loss of her first team, but the black-haired girl had successfully managed to reopen the wounds.

"Don't take it so hard," Hotaru consoled her. "She's just being a jerk."

"I can't," the brunette shook her head. "I can't help but feel that I did abandon them."

"Just don't get too depressed about it. What would we do if you got yourself killed?" the purple-haired girl asked.

"I don't plan on getting killed," the dog mistress scowled.

"Good," Hotaru smiled.

Then the signal sounded and the army moved out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hot Springs Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto had trouble keeping up with Jiraiya's pace. Who would have thought that the old hermit could be so spry? He got just as little rest as Naruto and he didn't show any sign of slowing down anytime soon. The young chuunin did his best not to slow him down, but the exhaustion did its work. He misjudged one jump and tripped over a branch he was trying to land on. He managed to catch the next one, so he didn't plummet to the ground, but he couldn't find the strength to get up and run on. He only held onto the branch and panted heavily.

"Hey, kid, what's the problem?" Jiraiya asked.

"Too tired," the boy replied between pants. "How can you be so fresh?"

"One of the perks of being a legendary ninja," the Gama Sennin replied. "If you train diligently, you might be able to do it too."

"Can't we rest for a while?" the blond asked.

"No," the Sannin shook his head, "we're too close to the enemy."

"What?!" Blue eyes widened in shock.

"Relax," the man smiled reassuringly, "it's only a small group."

"Doesn't matter," the jinchuuriki replied. "One would be too much for me now."

"Then rest quickly," Jiraiya suggested, "because we are going to fight them."

"What?!" Naruto couldn't believe his ears. "I feel like I'll fall asleep during the battle."

"I can do the fighting alone," the Toad Sage shrugged, "but there's something I need your help with."

"What is it?" the chuunin inquired.

"You are good with Shadow Clones, are you not?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes," Naruto confirmed.

"I need you to make as many as you can," the Toad Sage replied. "We're going to convince the Kumo forces there's an army here."

"Pranking the enemy?" the boy grinned. "I like that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kumo camp~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kamui yawned. Guard duty was boring, but it wasn't like he could afford to slack off. Especially since his unit was small and if they got taken by surprise, they could be easily wiped out. But so far nothing broke the numbing monotony.

When they had begun the campaign, he had expected more action, but so far everything had been going smoothly. Not that he complained. He was all for earning his money without having to exert or even endanger himself. He knew they were going to see more fighting than they cared for once they'd cross the Fire Country border, but so far things were going without a hitch. They and their allies had cut into the Hot Springs Country like knife into butter, without encountering anything that would count as resistance. The forces of Hot Springs Country were caught unawares and barely anybody tried to put up a fight. Not that there was anyone to put up the fight after the Hidden Hot Springs Village had been turned from a shinobi stronghold to a spa resort. Things were going good. And in Kamui's experience, it was too good to last. That is, why the sound of a snapping branch in the middle of the night was immediately interpreted as enemy. He jumped to his feet and it saved his life. A kunai grazed his pants in an area where his neck used to be less than a second before.

"Alarm!" he shouted. His companions immediately opened their eyes, completely awake within a moment, as was prudent for all seasoned shinobi. Many of them didn't even have the time to grab their weapons. A virtual hail of kunai rained at them from the surrounding jungle. Grunts of pain let him know who was hit.

Kamui himself evaded the barrage. It looked like most of it was aimed at the sleepers anyway. But before he could rejoice over his good luck, he noticed movement in the surrounding greenery. The enemy was here! He unsheathed his sword and prepared to fight. But then he noticed how many there were. They were outnumbered at least ten to one! There was no chance they could win this battle. There was only one thing he could do: He had to warn the main forces that there was a strong enemy force at their rear, perhaps even an army. He had no idea how did they outflank them, but he had to get out before they could outflank their core forces as well.

He looked around. The attackers were jumping down from the trees, weapons drawn, and they were overrunning his comrades by sheer numbers. One tried to stab his unprotected back, but Kamui's well-honed reflexes saved him. He avoided the blade narrowly and sent the enemy flying with a kick. He didn't watch him land, instead jumping into the trees.

"He's running!" somebody shouted. A shuriken whistled past his ear. He could hear somebody giving pursuit. He pumped more chakra into his legs. The pursuer did the same, shortening the distance between them. And now they got further away form the racket of battle, he could hear there was somebody else trying to outflank him. He threw a handful of shuriken in his direction and a yelp of pain let him know he hit true. He allowed himself a small smile. Only one enemy remained. He ran for a little longer before stopping. He was going to get rid of his tail here and now. They were now far enough from the others so there was little risk of being interrupted. As long as the other guy wasn't a jounin, he should be fine.

The pursuer reached him in no time. Kamui attacked him before he even landed. The pursuer, a middle-aged man in standard Konoha uniform, blocked with little trouble. Kamui followed with a kick to his stomach. The man took a step back. Kamui swung his sword again. The Konoha shinobi tried to block it with a kunai, not realizing it was a feint. Kamui's sword changed direction at the last moment and pierced his chest. The man fell to the ground with a gurgle. Kamui turned around and ran. He had to reach the main force as soon as possible. He had to inform them of the new threat.

If he stayed a little longer, he might have noticed his pursuer's corpse turning into mud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back in the camp~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wow, you really are amazing," Naruto said with awe.

"Did you ever doubt it?" Jiraiya smirked.

"Seeing it is completely different," the young chuunin replied.

"You weren't bad yourself," the white-haired man commented. "I wouldn't have been able to pull it off alone. Your clones were of great help."

"Yeah," Naruto sighed. "I wonder how nobody noticed them popping. They don't have enough energy to do any fighting. Can I dispel them finally?"

"No," the Toad Sage shook his head, "We still have to make it look like an army marched through here, so they are staying."

"Crap," the chuunin complained, "I'm really beat. Well, I'll keep them for a while longer, but you'll have to carry me when I faint."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hot Springs Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Now!" The command sounded through the forest. The army of Konoha ninja lying in wait sprung into motion, descending upon the surprised Kumo army like the wrath of Heaven. They were very lucky to be able to pull of the ambush like they did. Hana was proud that it was partly thanks to her; the Haimaru siblings had detected a Cloud scout and she and Hotaru he managed to dispose of him before he could have sent a message. And then there was also the fact that the Kumo army had inexplicably changed directions, which had allowed them to sneak up to their rear much easier.

The moment of surprise was on their side. She saw Kumo ninja falling dead before they realized what had happened. But there weren't many of them. Most had reflexes good enough to dodge at the last moment. They grabbed for their weapons to defend themselves. Then the battle really started.

Hana, her dogs, Hotaru and Tenzo fought as a team, being an effective unit taking down enemy ninja. But it lasted only for so long. They eventually ran into a jounin, who shot a Lightning jutsu between them and augmented it with a couple of Exploding Tags. The resulting blast threw the dog mistress through nearby bushes and had her crashing to the ground painfully.

She lay on the ground, fighting to catch her breath. She knew it was dangerous to just lie on a battlefield, but maybe she'd be mistaken for a corpse and left alone. But it seemed she didn't have her lucky day today. She more felt than heard somebody approaching her and the Killing Intent he was exerting revealed him as an enemy.

She rolled on her back and gripped her kunai. She was still too shaken from the blast to be able to fight properly, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She pushed herself into a sitting position, but that was as far as she got. The man was almost upon her. Out of nowhere, one of her dogs appeared, but the man sent him flying with a kick. Hana growled like a beast, but her threatening gesture had no effect on her opponent. He approached her swiftly and stabbed at her with his tanto. She managed to block, but just barely. The strength behind the attack pushed her back down. She kicked at his stomach, but he avoided her foot nimbly. He pulled his arm back for another strike and she knew that this time she wouldn't be able to block. But then the man suddenly gurgled, red blood spouting from his neck, and fell to the ground beside her.

"You really can't take care even of yourself," a scathing voice sounded next to her.

"Tokiko?" the brunette asked in surprise.

"Who else?" the other girl retorted. "I would have never thought that I'd have to save you one day."

"I'd have never thought I'd be saved by you," Hana replied. "Watch out!" Tokiko whirled around, but it was too slow. The Kumo kunoichi that had suddenly appeared behind her was already swinging her kunai at her. The genin had no chance to block. But then a kunai thrown by Hana nicked her cheek and she hesitated in her strike. In the next moment a big grey dog jumped at her and tore her throat.

"We're even," the Inuzuka heiress said.

"We can never be even. And that was your dog that saved me," Tokiko pointed out. "Looks like he's a better ninja than you."

"Whatever," Hana shrugged. She was in no mood to argue with the girl. And the middle of a battlefield was a bad place for discussions, period. She scrambled to her feet. Her body still hurt, but at least she was able to move now. "Let's go kick some Kumo ass."

"That's the smartest thing you ever said," Tokiko remarked. "Just don't make me save you again."

"I won't."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Elsewhere on the battlefield~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo clasped his hands in a seal. The branches of a nearby tree moved, capturing three nearby Kumo ninja. Before they could overcome their surprise and pry themselves out, Hotaru appeared and finished them off with her kodachi. The two of them made an effective team, but it wasn't enough. The Kumo army outnumbered them, even though not by much, and once the advantage of surprise had worn off, it began to show. So far, the Konoha forces held their own, but it was getting increasingly harder. Every single casualty on their side made the numerical advantage more prominent. And he was also worried about Hana. Ever since the explosion had separated them, he hadn't seen hair nor hide of the girl. And the one of her dogs who had landed next to them had run of somewhere as soon as his fur stopped smoking.

Some instinct made him duck and a couple of shuriken sailed right through the space that used to be occupied by his head less than a second before. He immediately returned fire and a hiss of pain let him know that he hit, but failed to seriously wound the enemy. He sighed. One more problem to take care of and he was getting tired. He whipped out his ninjato and turned to face the man.

Even though he defeated him easily, it did nothing to raise his spirits. From what he gathered form the shouts flying over the battlefield, the tides of battle began to turn against them. It looked like a commander in the Kumo army managed to organize his underlings and attack Konoha's lines. So far they hadn't gotten far, but they were progressing steadily. If they weren't stopped soon, they would eventually force them to retreat.

"We have to get that guy!" somebody shouted. Tenzo shot a glance at the speaker. He recognized the scarred face of his old colleague from ANBU, Namiashi Raidou.

"That's easier said than done," he replied. "The guards around him are doing their jobs."

"They're good against long-range attacks," Raidou observed, "but what if somebody sneaked up on him?"

"I don't see it happening," Tenzo answered. "They're too alert to let anything slip past them."

"What if somebody lay in wait in their path?" a new voice suggested. They turned around and saw a young dark-haired woman with red eyes.

"And how do you propose to do that?" Raidou asked.

"I'm a genjutsu mistress," she explained. "I can conceal myself quite well."

"And they are bound to have somebody good at detecting genjutsu," the scarred man pointed out.

"But it's a good idea," Tenzo said, "only I will do the hiding."

"Are you good with genjutsu?" Kurenai questioned.

"No," he shook his head, "but I have a special ability just for this kind of thing. I'll do the hiding and the two of you will provide a distraction."

The plan was quickly agreed upon. Tenzo moved stealthily into the path of the Kumo group. There he found a big tree on a small hill, a good place to overlook the battlefield, and melted into its trunk. This was one of the times when being a survivor of Orochimaru's experiments was a good thing. Than he had to only wait.

It was agonizing to sit still and do nothing while his comrades fought and fell. He couldn't help but try to look for Hotaru and Hana. He spotted the purple-haired girl for a moment, wrestling with a Kumo chuunin for a sword, but he lost the sight of her quickly. Hana he still couldn't see. He could only hope she was alright somewhere out there. At least he could see Raidou and Kurenai holding their positions. But he was a jounin, a former ANBU, and he was well-trained for handling such situations. And as a bonus, he could rest and recover some of his energy; the battle had drained him of quite a lot.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to him, but was only a quarter an hour in reality, the Kumo commander with his entourage moved closer to his tree. They expected a trap set up there, the place was just too convenient, and sent scouts ahead, but they found nothing suspicious. Well, a man fusing with the wood isn't something you encounter everyday.

The Kumo commander stood on the hill, but not directly under the tree. 'Clever,' Tenzo thought. 'If there was a hidden Exploding Tag in the tree, he would be only singed by the blast.' It made his job harder, but not impossible. He concentrated his chakra and let it flow to the roots. He quickly found those that were closest to his target. There were none big enough directly under him, but his Mokuton power remedied it quickly. Then it was time to strike.

The Kumo commander didn't notice anything amiss until two thick roots wound themselves around his legs. His first reaction was to jump away, but the roots held fast. And they were tightening. He felt small roots piercing the battle wraps on his calves. His second idea was Kawarimi, but it was very hard to perform while restrained. And even harder when said restraints were already drawing blood. Fortunately for him, by that time one of his bodyguards finally noticed what was happening and tried to cut off the roots with his sword. But the chakra-enforced wood was very hard and the blade got stuck in it. Immediately more roots sprouted up and captured the sword.

Two more Cloud shinobi jumped to help, but they were distracted by a huge fireball flying towards them, courtesy of Raidou. The flames were stopped by somebody erecting a Mud Wall, but the moment of distraction gave Tenzo the time needed to extend the roots even further. They now reached up to the commander's waist.

Then somebody on Kumo's side got the idea to hit the roots with Lightning. They probably realized that Wood was made up from Water and Earth and Earth chakra was susceptible to Lightning. The discharge hit the roots near the ground. It wasn't enough to destroy them, but it disrupted the flow of chakra inside it, negating Tenzo's control over it. The roots turned from deadly weapons to dead wood.

Tenzo cursed. Now he couldn't use the roots to attack anymore and there were too many alert enemies around to come out of the tree and attack personally. But he couldn't give up. Too much depended on his success. He commanded one of the undamaged roots still underground to form a spike and shoot at the commander's unprotected back. The commander was still captured within the now dead roots and couldn't evade. The spike slammed into his flak jacket. That was as far as it got, because one of the bodyguards fired a Raiton jutsu into it. The spike's progress was stopped, but it wasn't a complete failure. The overzealous bodyguard managed to shock his superior as well.

Seeing that his Mokuton techniques weren't working, Tenzo left the tree and appeared under it. The Kumo ninja looking for any more roots didn't notice him immediately, which gave him the time necessary to perform several handseals. An Earth Dragon formed in front of him and charged at the Kumo commander. It looked like he was going to succeed, but then three Kumo ninja hit it with Lightning attacks simultaneously. And Tenzo's supply of chakra ran out.

The dragon crumbled to dust and Tenzo collapsed to his knees. Four of the Cloud shinobi ran at him and the fifth spat a stream of fire, but before they could reach him, Raidou appeared at his side and fired a Goukakyuu at them. Kurenai followed at his heels and put one of the Kumo ninja under an illusion that made him see enemies in place of his allies. Then they grabbed the exhausted man and quickly retreated, before the Cloud shinobi could straighten the mess they had temporarily thrown them into.

"That didn't go too well," Raidou remarked.

"Sorry," Tenzo said, "I couldn't do it."

"Don't beat yourself over it, the odds were against you," the scarred man advised him.

"Now the odds are against all of us," the Mokuton wielder grumbled.

"We did miss our best shot there," Kurenai added. "It would be even harder to get the commander now."

As soon as she finished speaking, the commander and his entourage were crushed under a giant frog.

* * *

The end for now.

Next time: The conclusion of the battle and search for Tsunade.


	40. Accidental meetings

**A.N.:** So finally, here comes an update. I sincerely hope I'll have the next chapter ready faster than this one, but I can't make any promises.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, the last ten manga chapter or so would never happen.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hot Springs Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto could only stare in awe as Jiraiya effortlessly tore into the Kumo forces. 'Guess there is a reason he's legendary, other than his writing,' he thought. In the next moment a whistle of a flying kunai snapped him from his musings. He dodged instinctively and turned towards the one who threw it. He was in the middle of the battlefield and he should be concentrating on other things than his teacher's performance if he wanted to live. He eyed his opponent. Judging from his flak jacked, he was a chuunin. 'This shouldn't be hard,' he thought. As he and Jiraiya had been trailing behind the Kumo army, there wasn't much to do besides keeping quiet and the blond was bored. He was itching to see some action and he wanted to try out the results of his training in real combat.

He drew his ninjato, just as the Kumo chuunin finished his handseals. Naruto jumped sideways and the ground he had been standing on turned to mud. He heard the Cloud ninja cursing. 'Amateur,' he thought. He sent Wind chakra into his blade and attacked. The Kumo chuunin easily sidestepped the blade. Or so he thought. He didn't realize there was an invisible extension until it nearly cut him in half. Naruto didn't bother to watch him collapse and looked for his next opponent.

He didn't have to search long. After the sudden demise of the Cloud commander, his underlings were lacking orders and turned to attacking whoever was wearing Konoha headband without any organization or strategy. Naruto found himself being targeted by a pair of young men, probably brothers judging by their similar appearance. And they were certainly teammates, because they coordinated their attacks well. The shorter one threw a handful of shuriken at him, and as Naruto jumped away, the taller one unleashed a volley of kunai. The Konoha chuunin couldn't dodge midair, so he had to evade via a Kawarimi. The rock he exchanged himself with was immediately pierced through.

'A wind user,' he thought with a surprise. 'This is going to be interesting.' He landed behind them and swung his sword. The brothers leapt back, the Wind blade missing them. 'Figures they would know that trick,' Naruto thought. Before he could think anything else, the pair began forming handseals.

"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu" cried the shorter one.

"Fuuton: Reppushou," the taller one added. Naruto's eyes widened. The five small fireballs created by the Housenka were fanned by the wind of the Reppushou and grew in size and temperature.

"Suiton: Mizurappa," he cried one of the few Water jutsu he knew. He spat a stream of water from his mouth and hit one of the fireballs, quenching it. The other four were still after him and he had no time to repeat the jutsu. 'Guess I'm going to find out how does somebody caught in my Firestorm feel.'

He ran to the side, but the fireballs changed their direction. 'They're good if they can control them,' he thought. He moved the fastest he could, but the fireballs were closing in on him. And then he got a completely crazy idea. His teachers would probably tan his hide if they knew he as much as thought about it, but thankfully none of them were watching. He turned on his heel and sprinted right into the fireball. After all, that way he'd spend less time enveloped in the flames.

It was hot. Unbearably so. And it hurt. But he paid no mind to it. He had to get through the fire the fastest he could. The second it took him to get to the other side was probably the longest in his life. He was sure his hair and clothes were on fire, but the look on the brothers' faces when they saw him emerging from the flames was worth it. He swung his ninjato, already charged with Wind chakra, and the Kumo chuunin were too slow to react. The Wind blade cut deep into the taller one's chest. The shorter one was decapitated.

Naruto dropped his sword and hit the ground. He rolled back and forth in an attempt to douse the flames. His ninja clothes weren't easily flammable, but the jutsu combo had been too hot. It had little effect. He needed water, but there was no stream nearby.

Then suddenly he was hit by a great mass of cold water. He thought it would bring him relief, but instead the shock of cold on his burned skin brought him more pain.

"My, my," an unfamiliar voice spoke. "It looks like your teammates are just as inept as you." He opened his eyes. He saw a vaguely familiar kunoichi with dark hair and blue clothes standing above him. Behind her he spotted Hana, the Haimaru triplets standing guard around her.

"What are you doing here?" he blurted.

"No thanks?" the black-haired kunoichi raised an eyebrow. "I only just saved you from being roasted alive, so why should you thank me."

"Thanks," he said a bit embarrassed.

"So what are you doing here?" Hana asked.

"Hey! That was my line!"

"We're here with the army," the Inuzuka answered. You?"

"I'm with Jiraiya," he explained.

"I don't want to interrupt your touching reunion, but we're in the middle of a battle," Tokiko reminded them.

"How could we ever forget," Hana commented dodging a kunai somebody threw at her thinking she was distracted and an easy target. In the next moment he had to fend off three angry dogs.

Naruto climbed to his feet. Everything hurt, but the Kyuubi's healing factor was already working. He was able to fight again and that was what he did.

The battle didn't last much longer after that. The Kumo's forces were in disarray ever since their commander died and the presence of one of the Legendary Sannin only fuelled their panic. Many of the weak-hearted ran the moment the toad had appeared and the others soon realized that the tides of battle had turned against them. Even those who were brave weren't suicidal. They could recognize a lost battle and decided to retreat to fight another day. Soon, the battlefield belonged completely to Konoha ninja.

After that the real chaos started. The medics ran across the battlefield looking for those who needed their attention and many of the other ninja searched for their friends and teammates they got separated from during the fighting. Nobody really cared about the ninja code and they openly expressed their joy if they found them alive or sorrow if they found them dead. Naruto and Hana looked for the rest of Team Tenzo. It wasn't easy even with the help of the Haimaru siblings; there were so many smells floating around that their noses had a hard time making any sense of it. Tokiko left in search of her own team, so now it was only the two of them plus the dogs.

They found Hotaru first. She was sitting on a rare patch of undisturbed grass, using her field medkit to dress a couple of shallow wounds.

"Hotaru!" he called at her. She lifted her head and smiled.

"Naruto!" the purple-haired kunoichi exclaimed. "What are you doing here? And what happened to your hair? And clothes?"

"I helped with the fighting," he replied. "And a Katon jutsu happened. Don't ask for the details."

"I won't," she promised, "but how did you know about the battle?"

"Ero-sennin took me here," he explained. "We've been stalking the Kumo army for days."

"Ero-sennin?" she raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Jiraiya," Naruto explained.

"You call one of the greatest ninja to ever hail from Konoha 'Ero-sennin'?" Hotaru asked in disbelief.

"Here you are, gaki!" Jiraiya's voice sounded from nearby. "And you found yourself two pretty ladies? Good job, my student."

"Do you understand now why I call him Ero-Sennin?" the blond sighed.

"Yes," Hotaru grimaced upon seeing Jiraiya's lecherous grin.

"So what are your names, beautiful ladies?" the porn writer asked.

"Those are my teammates," Naruto introduced them. "Inuzuka Hana and Uzuki Hotaru."

"So girls, what are you doing this evening?" Jiraiya asked.

"Hey! Stop hitting on my teammates!" the blond boy protested.

"That's nice of you, Naruto," Hotaru spoke, "but you really don't have to do that."

"So you'll go out with me?" the white-haired man asked hopefully.

"No," the girl replied with a kick. "I meant I can take care of myself." Jiraiya looked hurt, but Naruto was convinced he was faking it.

"Did you see Tenzo?" Hotaru asked.

"No," Naruto shook his head. "He was here too?"

"Yes," the kunoichi confirmed. "We got separated before you arrived."

"Then let's go look for him," the blond chuunin decided. The group resumed their search.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Battlefield~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Good thing Jiraiya-sama appeared," Raidou said.

"Yes," Kurenai agreed. "We would have been toast if it wasn't for him."

"It wasn't that bad," Tenzo reassured her. "You did very well. Are you really still a chuunin?"

"Yes," she confirmed.

"I'm sure you'll get promoted soon," he said.

"Thanks," she smiled. Under different circumstances she might have blushed, but she was currently too tired for that.

"And look who's coming," Raidou said upon seeing the approaching chuunin team plus one Sannin.

"Naruto!" Tenzo exclaimed. "What are you doing here? And what happened to you?"

"I'm with Jiraiya. Did you forget?" He decided not to answer the second question. He didn't want a scolding for being reckless.

"No, but wasn't it too dangerous for you to fight?" his guardian questioned. "Considering... you know."

"And what was I supposed to do with him?" the Toad Sage shrugged. "Kumo ninja were crawling everywhere. There was no staying out of the fight. I didn't want to leave him alone. This way he helped."

"It could have easily ended in a tragedy," Tenzo disagreed.

"Yes," Jiraiya admitted, "it could. But then, anything might end in a tragedy. There's a war going on, didn't you notice?"

"Don't we all know it," the Mokuton wielder sighed. "So how are things going, Naruto?"

"Great," the boy smiled. "I'm learning a new jutsu."

"And your problem?" he wanted to know.

"Ask him," the young chuunin pointed to Jiraiya.

"Still working on it," the Sage informed them.

"Well," Tenzo shrugged, "I didn't expect it so soon anyway."

"Well, Naruto," Jiraiya said, "catch up with your teammates. I have a couple more people I have to see, and then we'll be leaving."

"Yes, Naruto, now explain why are you all charred."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Fire Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was beginning to feel bored. After they had parted with the Konoha army, they had spent some time in the Hot Springs Country and its neighboring territories gathering information on the invaders. That had been exciting, having to sneak around and occasionally fight some enemy shinobi, but then Jiraiya decided that they had gathered as much information they were going to get and headed south. So now they were near the southern shores of Fire Country, going from one holiday resort to another and asking about Jiraiya's old teammate, who nobody saw there for years. The young chuunin seriously didn't understand why they were doing this when they should be helping in the war, but that didn't matter to the Sannin. He said that their current priority was finding Tsunade and that's what they were doing.

But otherwise Naruto had no reason to complain. The weather was nice and he really liked the sea. And the fact that nobody knew him so people didn't look at him oddly helped a lot too. Here he was just another boy with a bad haircut, his hair having yet to grow back completely after being mostly burned off in the battle. Even his training was going well. He still couldn't perform the Rasengan correctly, but the training had helped him with his Whirlwind Fist. He could now keep the blades spinning for minutes at a time and was thinking about adapting the technique for his feet as well. And Jiraiya claimed he had made some progress with his Kyuubi problem as well. He still didn't show him a solution, but he insisted he was getting close. Naruto believed him.

There were also some annoying moments. Jiraiya tended to disappear for hours on end and returned giggling perversely, usually still scribbling into his notebook. Often there was an angry mob of females chasing after him. Naruto lost count of how many times they had to skip town suddenly, because the Toad Sage was in danger of being dismembered. He couldn't comprehend why the man kept doing this. If Tsunade knew her old teammate any, she would be alerted to his presence from several towns away. And if she really didn't want to be found, she would have no problem evading them. He seriously suspected that the self-proclaimed Super-Pervert considered their mission an excuse for womanizing.

Jiraiya also made him hide his Leaf headband and chuunin vest while traveling. He claimed it would spook Tsunade into running if she learned there were Konoha ninja nearby. Once again, Naruto had absolutely no idea what he was trying to accomplish with it when he didn't even try to cover his own rather distinctive appearance.

Therefore he considered it highly suspicious, when Jiraiya suddenly announced that Tsunade had been spotted in the next town. But he didn't dare to question the spymaster's expertise aloud, for fear of another lecture, obediently packed his things and followed him on the road.

Murakami was the same as most of the other coastal towns they have visited before; a moderately sized settlement with a neighborhood of hotels and entertainment resorts situated along a wide beach, trying desperately to attract tourists and cover up the fact that their glory days were long past, and a much larger area of residential quarters, a small trade port with a marketplace and the fishermen's district with adjoining slum. Life there went on like there was no war going on, a fact that had at first startled him, but he got eventually used to it, as it was the same in all the coastal settlements. All in all, nothing remarkable. There wasn't even any half-decent casino, so Naruto didn't understand what was Tsunade the Legendary Sucker doing there. From what he had gathered from Jiraiya, this was the one thing the Slug Sannin couldn't live without. But she didn't owe money to anybody there, so that must have counted as a big plus.

Jiraiya booked them into an inn and then left claiming he had to talk to some of his contacts. Naruto personally translated it as 'went to peep on the girls on the beach.' He remained alone with nothing to do. They had run all the way from the last town, so he felt too tired for training, but it was still day, so he wasn't sleepy either. So lacking any better option, he decided to browse the downtown, despite thinking that Murakami was going to be utterly boring. And he was partially right. The houses, shops and residents seemed the same as the ones it the previous town and the one before that and the one before that. But soon he saw something that chased the boredom away.

Unfortunately it wasn't something he wanted to see. He had spent only a week protecting Lady Mao and he still considered it the crappiest seven days of his entire shinobi career, and that was counting the war. The arrogant noblewoman had a knack for making people's life hell. His experiences guarding her woke him up from his sleep on more than one occasion. But as much as he didn't want to remember it, he couldn't help but recall that it was then when he had briefly encountered Tsunade. It would be quite the coincidence if they found the elusive kunoichi now, when the obnoxious noblewoman was in town too.

While he was lost in thought, he failed to see that Lady Mao slowly drifted closer to him. He noticed it only when her unmistakable shrill voice snapped him from his thoughts.

"What are you doing?"

"What?" he blinked in confusion. He was merely standing in the middle of a street.

"How dare you not make way when you see nobility coming?"

"Oh, sorry," he muttered and tried to disappear. He didn't want to spend any more time in her presence than he absolutely had to. Every single second was torture.

"And where do you think you are going?" She grabbed his arm. "Apologize properly."

"Oh sorry, great and mighty lady," he began trying valiantly to keep the sarcasm from his voice, "for stepping into your path. I was so stunned with your beauty, that I was unable to move. Please forgive me for ever casting my unworthy peasant eyes on you, though I can never be forgiven for soiling your delicate hand by making you touch my filthy arm." By that time, they had gathered a small crowd of onlookers, some of whom were snickering openly. Mao ignored them.

"Do you think a simple apology is enough?" she sneered. Naruto grimaced.

"I would kiss your feet, if I didn't fear tainting them forever with my foul commoner's stench," he replied and this time the sarcasm was quite apparent.

"How dare you..." the noblewoman turned red, which was apparent even through her several layers of make-up. Naruto couldn't bear looking at her anymore. His eyes drifted over a crowd. He noticed a familiar face there. It belonged to a young woman with short black hair. Where had he seen her before? Was she perhaps a ninja of Konoha here on a mission? Then he noticed she was carrying a little piglet in her arms. That certainly looked familiar. And then he remembered. He had seen her while guarding Lady Mao. He had even spoken to her briefly. She was Tsunade's assistant.

He couldn't believe his luck. They spent months looking for them and now he nearly ran into one of them. But what was he supposed to do? Call out to her? If they really didn't want to be found, that would make them run. Should he follow her? He was pretty good at trailing people, but he wasn't so confident to think he could fool a Sannin.

"Have you gone deaf?" The shout reminded him that Lady Mao still held his arm in her deathgrip. He returned his attention to her. Then he noticed out of the corner of his eye Shizune turning around and leaving. 'Oh no,' he thought. Did she recognize him? It was highly unlikely, but still...

"Sorry," he told Mao, "I have to go."

"How dare you..." she roared again, but he paid her no attention. He quickly freed himself from her grip.

"You broke my nail! You're going to pay for it!" He ignored her outraged cries and made his way through the crowd towards Shizune. But before he pushed through all the people, he lost the sight of the kunoichi. He stood at the intersection and scanned the streets for any sign of the young medic. Nothing. Shizune had disappeared completely. He sighed. He'd have to inform Jiraiya. He wondered whether the sage was going to be glad or mad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Murakami~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finding Jiraiya was no easy feat. The town that had seemed so small suddenly proved that it possessed a vast supply of crooked streets and shadowy corners, all of which could hide the Legendary Sage. Even when he tried to concentrate on the places with pretty girls, it still left too many spots to check. And he had no idea where did the spymaster go. He sighed. This was going nowhere. The sun was already setting and there was still no sign of Jiraiya, Tsunade or her apprentice.

He was seriously considering giving up and returning to the inn, waiting for Jiraiya to show up (probably tomorrow around noon), and then tell him and let him do the work. Only the old perv would probably scold him for not locating Tsunade when he had the chance. And maybe he would scold him for going off on his own and scaring her away when he was supposed to report to him immediately. So it was a tough choice. He decided that he shouldn't make it on an empty stomach and decided to have dinner first. He couldn't recall seeing a ramen stand (a shame, really), so he entered the first decent-looking diner he came across.

He sat down at an empty table. Considering the hour, it was strange that there weren't more people, but the young chuunin didn't have that much experience with similar establishments, despite Jiraiya's attempts, so he didn't know what was normal. He studied the menu for a while and discovered that they served ramen, so he ordered a bowl of pork. He waited for the waitress to deliver it and then dug in. And promptly choked. His eyes filling with tears, he finally understood why this restaurant wasn't crowded. They dared to call this ramen? It could barely be called food. Somebody there should repeat their cooking lessons. Teuchi would probably have a stroke if he saw somebody botch ramen like this.

He couldn't stand that insult to all things holy in his mouth anymore. He spat it out, not caring where it was going to land. He then doubled over on his chair, coughing, trying to get rid of the horrible taste.

"Watch out where do you spit, brat!" an angry voice interrupted his misery. He blinked. The speaker sounded a bit drunk, but it was female. He could usually charm women with his cute eyes, so he didn't have much to worry about. He looked up. The first thing he noticed were breasts. He still wasn't in the age to be interested them, but those were truly outstanding. Their sheer size was intimidating. Then he looked higher and noticed a big cleavage adorned with a strange necklace. Then he noticed a pretty young face currently twisted in an angry snarl. Two blond pigtails were next. And last came the diamond-shaped mark on her forehead. Uh-oh. He blinked to make sure he wasn't imagining things. But nope. The sight stayed the same. He really did just spit on Tsunade. Next came the thought how long had she been sitting there and how could he have missed her before. Then it occurred to him that it was quite a coincidence to run into her the moment he wasn't looking for her. And then he thought that whatever he had been supposed to do upon encountering her, spitting on her coat certainly wasn't it. 'Jiraiya is going to kill me' followed immediately after that.

"Well, brat, I asked you something!" Tsunade growled. It occurred to the boy that maybe Jiraiya won't kill him, because there would be nothing left to kill after the woman finished with him. The Slug Sannin looked that furious.

"S-sorry, madam," he stammered, "I didn't want to."

"But you did! Why did you do it if you didn't want to?" she demanded.

"The ramen was so bad I just couldn't hold it," he explained.

"Well," she shrugged, "the sake here's pretty bad too. But at least it's sake." She picked up the jug standing on her table and took a hearty swig. Suddenly she didn't look so angry anymore. Naruto began thinking that he might survive the encounter after all. But what was he supposed to do now? He wished he knew. And he wished Jiraiya was there, but the old man was still off perving somewhere. There was no chance he would suddenly walk through the door. Between running into Lady Mao, seeing Shizune and then spitting on Tsunade, he felt like he had already spent his daily quota of coincidences.

"Everything feels better when you get drunk, boy," Tsunade spoke. "And if it doesn't feel better, drink some more and it will feel better. Or you'll forget about it. Yes, that's the good thing about drinking. But the bad thing is... the bad thing is... I can't remember. But it doesn't matter. You're too young to drink anyway." She poured the sake to her cup, somehow managing not to spill a single drop, which seemed miraculous considering her state of inebriation, and downed it at one gulp. Naruto watched her with fascination. It looked like she had completely forgotten that she had been angry with him. He wondered what he should do.

"Drinking is just wonderful," she continued. "I've already forgotten why I started drinking. I can't remember anything about the war, the dead or the blood. Nope, nothing at all." The chuunin wondered just how intoxicated she was. She had seemed merely tipsy at first, but now it looked like she was seriously sloshed. As he watched pour herself another cup, he wondered whether he should stop her. He decided against it; he didn't want her angry at him again. Even drunk, a Sannin was still a formidable opponent. No, he'll just sit there, wait for her to drink herself to oblivion and once she passed out, he'd pick her up and carry her to the inn he and Jiraiya shared. Yes, that sounded like a plan. The old geezer would be astounded with his accomplishment.

He watched Tsunade slowly empty the jug and order another. He listened to her ranting about things that meant nothing to him, nodded at the appropriate times and wondered when she was finally going to pass out. He was beginning to worry that it might never happen; she didn't seem to be getting any drunker. Though, if he watched her really carefully, weren't her movements a little slower than they used to be? Or was it just his wishful thinking?

Just as he was finally beginning to believe that his plan would succeed, the door to the bar opened and somebody walked in. Naruto at first paid it no attention; after all, lots of people came and went during the evening. But then the figure headed towards their table.

"Here you are, Tsunade-sama," it spoke. The voice sounded vaguely familiar to Naruto. With a jolt he realized it was Shizune. "You shouldn't be sitting here like that. And you shouldn't have left without telling me where you were going. There are Konoha ninja in town! I saw one earlier this afternoon! What if they saw you and... oh." Her eyes fell on Naruto. "Looks like they already did."

"What?" Tsunade blinked. She was still drunk, but suddenly she seemed alert. Her honey-colored eyes focused on the boy in front of her.

'Uh-oh,' he thought as her face twisted in a snarl. His eyes darted left and right. It only confirmed what he already knew: he was trapped. The two women stood between him and the door. There was a backdoor leading to the kitchen, but he was separated from it by the counter and several tables with guests. And there was little chance he would make it that far anyway. They were too good to make an escape possible. And fighting was out of the question too. 'Guess I'll have to talk my way out of this,' he thought.

"So you've been spying on me all the time," Tsunade stated angrily, grabbing him by his collar.

"No," Naruto shook his head.

"Ha! And you think I'd believe that?!" the Slug Sannin accused him.

"It's the truth, honest!" the chuunin defended himself. "I just came here for some ramen, I had no idea you'd be here!"

"Then why did you stay for so long?" she questioned.

"Uh..." Naruto wracked his brain for a believable answer.

"I knew it! You are here for me!" the blond kunoichi stated. She looked about ready to punch his face and considering what he had heard about her monstrous strength...

"Don't you think you're overreacting, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune interjected. Naruto would have kissed her, if Tsunade's fist wasn't still holding him in place.

"No," she answered firmly. 'There goes my chance,' Naruto thought wistfully. 'Where is Jiraiya when I need him?'

"He's just a kid," Shizune reasoned with her.

"So?" the older woman shrugged. "When I was his age..."

"He isn't you," the younger woman pointed out.

"I know he isn't me! But I know his type! The little ones are the most dangerous!"

"I'm not dangerous!" Naruto assured her. "Not at all!"

"Who do you have me for?" she snarled. "Do you honestly think I'm going to believe that?"

"It's the truth!" he insisted. She still refused to believe him.

"Tsunade-sama, you shouldn't choke him. That would get us in trouble," Shizune tried to placate her.

"We're already in trouble, if some little punk kid found us," the legendary medic muttered.

"Then let's just leave," the dark-haired woman suggested. "We can lose them like we keep losing the debt collectors."

"We can," Tsunade agreed like it only now occurred to her.

"So you can just let him go," Shizune continued. She probably didn't like seeing little kids being manhandled.

"No," the Sannin shook her head. "No letting him go. He'd just run back to his teammates and tattle on us. He's going with us."

"You want to take him with us?" Shizune's eyes widened.

"Just until we skip the town," her teacher decided. "Then he can go wherever he wants."

And so Naruto found himself dragged off by a legendary powerful drunken ninja. It wasn't an entirely new experience, Jiraiya had done it to him before, but this time it felt much more dangerous. There was no telling what an inebriated Tsunade was going to do. Naruto took a calming breath and wished desperately that they'd run into Jiraiya. Though, considering his current luck, it didn't seem likely.

* * *

And that's it for today, folks.

Next time: Will Naruto survive an angry, drunk Tsunade? Or will he get punched through a wall?


	41. Painful conversations

**A.N.:** Merry Christmass to everybody, here I present you the next update as a gift.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors,

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Murakami~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tsunade dragged him through the streets towards her lodgings. Some of the people around stopped and gave them a strange look, but most of them weren't interested. A kid being dragged by his neck by an angry drunk woman was probably a common sight here. Or maybe they thought he was Tsunade's son, so they didn't find it strange. The boy kept scanning the crowd for the familiar tall form of Jiraiya, his white hair should shine like a beacon, but he couldn't see him anywhere. Just where was the old man peeping?

All too soon they arrived at Tsunade's hotel. The Sannin dragged him up the stairs to her room and showed him in the corner.

"Stay here," she commanded. Naruto nodded. "Or should I tie you up?"

"I'll be good," he promised.

"Am I supposed to trust you?" she snapped. "Who do you think I am? I'll just tie you up anyway."

"Isn't that a bit overboard, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked.

"No," the legendary medic disagreed. "Knocking him out would be overboard. Though maybe I should do it." Naruto paled. He certainly didn't want to be knocked out by Tsunade. She might overdo it and crack his skull instead. He wished Jiraiya would suddenly walk into the room, but that would require more luck than he usually had. And he felt like he had maxed his quota for unexpected encounters for today.

"I'll tie him up," Shizune decided seeing that her mistress was about to do something stupid.

"Well," the blond woman agreed. "But make sure he can't get out."

The dark haired woman walked over to the scared boy.

"Sorry," she whispered. "Tsunade-sama is not bad, but she gets all sorts of crazy ideas when she's drunk."

"So I've noticed," Naruto replied. He held still as Shizune bound his wrists. He knew that if he struggled, it would be only worse. And besides, they didn't block his chakra. If he really needed, he could cut the ropes using his Wind blades. He had enough control over it to do it without slicing off his fingers.

But that still didn't answer the question on what was he supposed to do. He couldn't rely on Jiraiya appearing suddenly, but how was he supposed to keep the woman here himself? He didn't know about anything he could do to make her stay. Maybe if he kicked her backpack, the contents would spill and she'd have to repack? No, that was a stupid idea. It wouldn't delay her for more than a couple of minutes and he'd call her wrath on his head unnecessarily. If he just sat quietly, nothing would happen to him. And once the two women left, he'd get rid of the rope, look for Jiraiya and they would pursue them. Yes, that sounded like a plan. It did have a glaring flaw, namely that it might take a long time to locate the Super-pervert and that it might take even longer before he sobered up, but it was the best he could come up with, so that was what he was going to do.

Finally the two women finished packing.

"Well, brat, we're leaving. So be nice and don't go running off," Tsunade said.

"Shouldn't we untie him now?" Shizune asked.

"Nah," the Slug Sannin waved her hand dismissingly. "He's a ninja. He can get out of it on his own."

"Alright, Tsunade-sama."

The blond woman moved to the door and opened them. And stood still, blinking in shock.

"Oh, Tsunade-hime! What a lucky coincidence!" Jiraiya's voice sounded from the hallway. "Won't you invite me in? Or are you going somewhere?" Naruto sighed in relief. The old pervert was here. He didn't have to decide everything on his own anymore.

"What do you call a coincidence? You were stalking me!" Tsunade accused him.

"Stalking?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "That's such a nasty word. No, I wasn't stalking you. In fact, I had no idea you were in town until I arrived. And then I heard you were here. What teammate would I be if I didn't pay you a visit? It's been so long since we last saw each other."

"Whatever made you think I want to see you again?" the Slug Princess scowled.

"We haven't seen each other in years and you're still so cold," the Gama Sennin pouted.

"And you're still a pervert," the busty woman retorted, seeing how the white-haired man eyed her cleavage. "Honestly, I thought you'd grow out of puberty by now."

"What's wrong with appreciating beauty?" Jiraiya said defensively.

"The way you do it is wrong," Tsunade growled.

As they talked, Naruto cut the rope around his wrists. Shizune didn't wrap them particularly tight, but still it was a great relief to get out of them. He stood up and walked to the door. He spotted Jiraiya standing there at the same time the Toad Sage spotted him.

"Oi, gaki, what are you doing here?" the man asked.

"You know him?" Tsunade scowled. Then she turned to Naruto. "I knew it! You were spying on me!"

"No! I ran into you by accident! Honestly!" the boy defended himself.

"That's true," Jiraiya said. "I've been looking for you myself."

"Than what is he doing here?" the blond woman questioned.

"I'm just dragging him around," the white-haired man answered.

"Well, that being said, we'll be going," Tsunade decided and tried to push past Jiraiya. The Gama Sennin didn't let her.

"And where do you think you are going?" he asked. "I didn't even tell you why I am here."

"Save your breath," the Slug Sannin snapped. "The answer is no."

"I didn't ask you anything yet," Jiraiya replied.

"You didn't have to," Tsunade deadpanned. "I know what are you going to ask."

"Do you?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"Either it is something perverted or you want me return to Konoha or it is something perverted. In either case, the answer is no."

"Well, you know me too well, Tsunade-hime," Jiraiya smiled embarrassedly. "But please reconsider."

"No," she shook her head resolutely. "There is no way I'm ever returning to that hellhole."

"Konoha isn't a hellhole!" Naruto shouted. Tsunade whirled to him.

"Watch it, brat! You have no idea what are you talking about!" Naruto took a step back. He thought he had seen Tsunade angry before, but that was nothing compared to this. The Killing Intent she released nearly forced him to his knees. He found himself unable to speak. Even breathing was suddenly difficult.

"Tsunade, that's enough!" Jiraiya shouted. The enraged woman turned to him.

"Don't tell me what I should do!"

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune's attempt to calm her mistress down yielded no results.

"Can't we talk about it quietly?" the Toad Sage asked.

"No!" the Slug Sannin stated. "I'm not returning to Konoha and that's final!"

"Sensei wants you back," the white-haired man pleaded.

"Sensei is a fool," she scoffed. "What makes him think I'll return now of all times?"

"We need you, Tsunade-hime."

"Well, I don't need you."

"Please?" Jiraiya accompanied the word with the best rendition of puppy dog eyes Naruto had ever seen. Unfortunately Tsunade seemed to be immune.

"Quit it, Jiraiya," she answered curtly. "Konoha has no right to want anything from me. It already took away everything it could."

"That's not true," the Toad Sage argued.

"It is true," the woman insisted. "Tell me, Jiraiya. Can you bring back Dan? Or Nawaki?" The man only hung his head. "I thought so," Tsunade continued. "I'm done with Konoha. I've been done with it for a long time and nothing you say can change my mind, so deal with it. Shizune, let's go."

"You can't just walk away!" Naruto had gathered his bearings and tried to call her back. When she turned towards him, he had to wonder what had possessed him to speak up. Her eyes seemed red with rage. Or maybe it was unshod tears. He couldn't tell.

"And who is going to stop me, brat? You? Go home to your mommy and stop playing at being a ninja. You'll live longer."

"And spend the rest of my life hiding like a coward? No, thanks." Naruto had no idea where did he find the courage.

"Idiot," Tsunade scoffed. "You'll just get killed like the fool you are."

"Well, I'd rather die of an enemy kunai than liver cirrhosis."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tsunade's hotel room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first sensation that registered in Naruto's brain was pain. All of his body hurt. Badly. He tried to figure out where was the pain coming from with little success. All of his body seemed to be the source.

He slowly opened his eyes. The light was painfully bright, but at least it helped him forget how did the rest of his body feel.

"You awake, gaki?" Jiraiya's voice asked. Naruto nodded and immediately regretted it. His head exploded in pain. He waited until it subsided.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You told Tsunade something she didn't want to hear," the Toad Sage answered.

"And?"

"And what else would you like to know?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Why does everything hurt?"

"Can't you tell? You pissed off Tsunade."

"And?"

"Do I have to spell it for you?" Jiraiya sighed. "She punched you. You made quite a nice hole in the wall."

"Oh." Naruto blinked. That made sense. Only he couldn't remember it happening and could barely recall what did he say. It must have been that traumatic amnesia he kept hearing about.

"Oh indeed," the Sage nodded. "What were you thinking, goading her like that?"

"Uh..."

"I thought so. You weren't thinking," Jiraiya berated him. "You could have ended up dead. Though, it was good for something. Tsunade decided to stay around to heal you." Naruto didn't know what to say to that.

"And now the brat is awake, we'll be on our way," Tsunade commented. Naruto blinked in surprise. He had no idea she was there until she spoke. He turned after her voice and tried to sit up. He fell back down with a painful moan. It looked like even Kyuubi's healing had some trouble with the damage caused by Tsunade's inhumanely strong punch.

"Careful there," the woman in question said kneeling next to him. "I just finished patching you up, so don't mess up my work."

"You're the one who punched me," Naruto reminded her.

"Don't be cheeky, brat. Or I'll punch you again," Tsunade threatened. But her hand was already glowing green, assessing the damage done to Naruto's ribs. So maybe she wasn't really as angry as she seemed.

"That would be quite an accomplishment, Tsunade," Jiraiya commented. "Punching a child who's barely able to move, you weren't like that before."

"Shut up or I'll punch you," the legendary medic informed him angrily.

"I'm used to it, Tsunade-hime," the Toad Sage shrugged. "But him," he looked at Naruto, "if he weren't what he was, you could have killed him. Really, Tsunade, that was low."

"I've already agreed to stay until he heals," she snapped. "Don't push your luck."

"You didn't used to be like that, Tsunade-hime," Jiraiya said ruefully. "You used to beat me all the time, but nearly killing a child for saying something you didn't like, you've fallen so low."

"I told you not to push it," the Slug Sannin growled angrily.

"Are you going to punch me too?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow daringly. "Are you going to smash anything you don't like and then drown yourself in sake in a futile attempt to forget? Because no matter what you say, he was right. You are only wasting away."

"I told you to shut it!" she bellowed and punched him through the wall.

"Ero-Sennin!" Naruto shouted in alarm, trying to sit up.

"Don't," Tsunade admonished him, "you'll just hurt yourself."

"But Ero-Sennin..."

"Will be fine," she finished. "He survived worse."

Just at the moment Jiraiya climbed through the hole. He was holding his ribs and his movements were strained.

"Yes, I've survived worse, but I used to be younger back then. But then again, so did you. This barely hurt." Tsunade tried to punch him again, but this time Jiraiya dodged.

"So full of anger," he observed. "The time away from Konoha didn't do you any good."

"That's up to me to decide," she snapped angrily.

Naruto gathered his strength and pushed himself into sitting position. It hurt, but it wasn't as bad as before.

"Well, lady," he spoke, "I don't know how you used to be before, but it looks to me that whatever are you doing now isn't helping. So won't you consider a change?"

"You mean going back to Konoha?" she scoffed. "No. Way. In. Hell."

"Why do you even hate it so much?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya had never explained it to him.

"It took everything from me."

"Now that's unfair," Jiraiya commented. "You can't blame Konoha for what happened."

"I can and I will," she snapped.

"You're just being stubborn."

"Am not!"

"And now you're sounding like a spoilt little princess," he pointed out. "But I guess you've always been a bit of a spoilt little princess, Tsunade-hime."

"Watch your mouth, Jiraiya," she threatened.

"Is anger your default reaction to everything?" Naruto asked.

"Don't be cheeky, brat," she scolded him.

"It sounds like it is," the boy commented, seemingly to himself. "In that case I don't understand why the Hokage wants you back. You'd only end up maiming our own forces."

"Don't say such things about Tsunade-sama!" Shizune defended her mistress. "You know nothing about her!"

"Then enlighten me," he prompted.

"Don't bother, Shizune," Tsunade waved her hand. "Jiraiya must have told him."

"He didn't."

"No?" She looked genuinely surprised. "Then ask him. I'm not going to talk about it."

"Dos it still hurt so much?" the Gama Sennin asked.

"Yes," Tsunade answered.

"Then won't you agree you need a different cure?" Jiraiya proposed. "As a medic, if one cure doesn't work, you should look for another, shouldn't you?"

"I already told you: I'm not going to Konoha."

"You avoided my question, Tsunade-hime. Don't you agree that you need a different cure for your grief?"

"Do you have one?" Suddenly she sounded defeated. Naruto couldn't think of any better word for it.

"Maybe we can find one," Naruto offered.

"Don't think so highly of yourself, brat," she scoffed. "You're just a wet-behind-the-ears kid."

"But doesn't he remind you of _him_?" Jiraiya asked. Tsunade blinked in surprise, looking at Naruto like it was the first time she saw him.

"That was low, Jiraiya," she said bitterly. "Even for you."

"You forced me to it," he replied.

"Just what are you talking about?" Naruto asked. Everybody ignored him.

"No matter what you say, I won't change my opinion," the Slug Princess stated.

"Still as stubborn as ever," Jiraiya sighed. "Tell me, Tsunade: do you really hate Konoha so much?"

"Why do you ask?" she raised an eyebrow. "You should already know the answer: yes."

"That's what I thought," Jiraiya sighed. "But still, don't you think it's unfair to blame it all on Konoha?"

"No."

"Looks like we're going nowhere," the Gama Sennin commented.

"Yes. Than would you just quit it? It's only annoying the both of us."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Tsunade-hime. You see, I have my orders."

"I don't care about your orders," she scoffed. "I'm not returning there ever again. I won't let Konoha take anyone else from me."

"Isn't there anything I could do to convince you?"

"Can you bring them back?" she asked skeptically.

"No," Jiraiya shook his head ruefully.

"So no, there isn't."

"So you're running away from Konoha because somebody dear to you died?" Naruto asked.

"No," she corrected. "Because Konoha killed them."

"You know, Tsunade, I was once in the Hospital," Naruto started.

"So?" she asked in a bored tone.

"And there I saw a doctor explaining to a mother that her son had died. The woman had completely broken down."

"So you see why I can't return there."

"No," the boy shook his head, "I don't. And I'm not finished telling the story. You see, the doctor told the poor mother something: If only Tsunade-sama was here, she could have saved him. But there's no-one in Konoha as good as her."

"Damn right there isn't," she said proudly.

"You didn't get the point, did you?" Naruto asked. "You hate Konoha because you lost somebody. I can't argue with that. I don't know what happened."

"That you don't," she agreed.

"But there are lots of people in Konoha who have a good reason to hate you because their loved ones died because you weren't there to heal them. So is drinking your life away really so much more important than saving people's lives?"

Now he hit a sore spot. He recognized it immediately by the mad look in her eyes. There was both anger and tears. 'Tears?' he wondered. He had no time to consider it further. She swung her fist at him. He had just enough time to try to block. It did him little good against Tsunade's monstrous strength. Her fist connected with his forearm. He felt the bones snapping and the kunai he kept in his sleeve cut into his flesh. Then he was knocked to the ground.

Tsunade looked first at him, than at her fingers. She blinked as she studied the red liquid covering them.

"Blood?" she asked in disbelief. Then she began shaking uncontrollably, standing frozen to the spot. Naruto watched her in confusion, which wasn't suppressed even by the pain in his arm.

"What happened to her?" he asked.

"Tsunade-sama is afraid of blood," Shizune explained. "She's been like that ever since uncle Dan died in her arms."

"That's quite a problem for a ninja," the boy observed.

"It's even a bigger problem for a medic," the dark-haired woman explained. "We can't avoid seeing blood in our profession. That's why Tsunade-sama cannot be a medic anymore. It's tearing her from inside out, even more than the deaths of Dan and Nawaki."

"I had no idea," Naruto said.

"Well, now you know. Are you happy with your work?"

"My work?" Naruto blinked. "She's the one who punched me! And I'm the one with the broken arm."

"Allow me to take a look at it," Shizune offered. "I'm not as good as Tsunade-sama, but I can still help."

"Sure."

There was silence as Shizune worked. Naruto was trying hard not to cry. The wound hurt a lot. Tsunade was still rooted to the ground, staring at her bloody fingers and shivering. She didn't seem to even blink. Jiraiya just sat in a corner and watched the proceedings with a grim face.

"That's all I can do for now," the dark-haired medic declared after a while. "I'm afraid you won't be able to use it for two weeks."

"I heal fast," the jinchuuriki replied.

"That's good for you."

"So what are we going to do now?" Naruto asked. He looked at Tsunade, who still hadn't moved.

"We have to wait until she snaps out of it," Shizune answered.

"How long is it going to take?"

"Who knows," Shizune shrugged.

"Can't we do something to snap her out of it?" Naruto questioned. "Like dunk her with cold water or something."

"Dunk Tsunade-sama with cold water?" Shizune sounded horrified with the prospect.

"But it might work," Jiraiya said. He stood up and headed out, presumably searching for a bucket. Shizune still looked scandalized, but she didn't protest.

Naruto watched the petrified form of Tsunade. He didn't know what to think about her. At first, he had thought she was a coward for running away, but now he had to reconsider. She hadn't left Konoha just because she had felt like it, but because she genuinely was no good for the village. But what was she now? Should he still consider her a coward for freezing upon seeing blood? Or should he consider her ill?

He had very limited experience with phobias. No-one from his closest people suffered from one, as far as he knew. He had seen girls shrieking when they saw a mouse or a cockroach, but never had he witnessed anything remotely close to this reaction. It left him confused. It also made him want to help, but he had no idea how.

"Shizune, why is Tsunade like that?" he asked.

"She's terrified of the sight of blood," the younger woman answered.

"I know, but what made her like that?"

"It happened when Uncle Dan died. They loved each other dearly and wanted to marry. One day, they were on a mission together. I wasn't there, so I know only what I've heard about it. Dan was fatally wounded and Tsunade-sama attempted to heal him, but she failed. There was so much blood there. Tsunade completely froze with shock and grief and every time she sees blood, she's reminded of that time." Shizune finished her story and stared off into the wall. Her face was sad, making it clear that it was a painful topic even for her.

"So that's how it is," Naruto spoke thoughtfully. He tried to imagine how it must have been. What was it like to love someone that much? What was it like to watch them die? He imagined if it was Tenzo or one of his teammates dying in front of him. What would he do then? Would he fall apart too? He always came to the conclusion that he would rip apart whoever did it, even if it meant using the Kyuubi. But then, it didn't really happen to him, so he shouldn't judge.

Then Jiraiya returned carrying a bucket, which he promptly dumped on Tsunade's head. The cold water shook the woman awake. She stopped shaking, looked at her wet jacked and then at the grinning Jiraiya. Then she punched him.

"Pervert! You did it to see me in wet clothes!"

"How can you think that about me? I did it to snap you out of the fit." But the way he was eyeing her now very visible curves told another story.

"I know you." Jiraiya had the good grace to look a bit guilty, though his eyes remained rooted on her breasts. "Stop it or I'll punch you again," Tsunade threatened. "Now look at me, I can't go out in this. And don't even think about watching me change my clothes!"

"Tsunade-sama, I think you should take a look at his arm."

"I see you've already treated it, Shizune."

"But I'm not as good as you and the bone is badly shattered."

"Alright," Tsunade sighed and began the examination. She was so engrossed in her work that she even ignored Jiraiya's eyes on her form.

"You were right, Shizune," she said after a while, "there are a couple of bone fragments lodged in the muscle. If they're left there, it would be very painful for him to move the arm. I should operate..." She suddenly stopped and clamped a hand over her mouth. Naruto couldn't help but notice that she paled.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Blood," she whispered.

"That's bad," Shizune commented. "Tsunade-sama cannot perform the operation for her fear of blood and I'm afraid I'm not good enough."

"You are," her teacher assured her. "It's not that hard."

"It would be better if you could do it," Shizune pointed out.

"No! No, I can't. I just can't," Tsunade replied, shaking. Her student looked at her ruefully.

"As you wish, Tsunade-sama."

"I wish things could be like I wished," the blond woman replied. Nobody had a reply to that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Murakami~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The town didn't have a decent hospital. But after some effort, they managed to find a doctor with a well-equipped office and convinced him to let them perform the operation there. Shizune performed it, under the instructions of Tsunade. It really wasn't as hard as she had thought. She managed to remove all the bone fragments safely and when Tsunade checked Naruto's arm later (completely bandaged so not a single drop of blood was visible), she stated that there were no more problems and commended Shizune for her good work. Then she stated that even with Naruto's enhanced healing, it would take nearly two weeks for the arm to heal. She agreed to stay for the time, claiming she wanted to be at hand should complications arise.

They stayed in their respective inns, visiting each other. Tsunade examined Naruto's arm every day and always said that it was healing well. Jiraiya kept trying to convince her to return to Konoha with them, but she kept saying no. Naruto couldn't be sure whether he was deluding himself or not, but he thought that her 'no' didn't sound as convinced as it did on the first day.

One day, Naruto was sitting on the terrace, holding an air balloon in his uninjured hand. 'Concentration,' he thought. 'Don't break it.' But it wasn't that easy. The water balloon and the rubber balloon exercises had been hard, but they seemed like a piece of cake compared to this. He barely started spinning his chakra inside and it broke. He was going through his supply of balloons at a high rate and he didn't feel like he was making any progress.

'Maybe if I tried it with a bigger ball first? And once I learned that, I'd try with a smaller one?' It sounded like a plan, so Naruto picked one of the balloons and blew more air into it. The balloon broke. 'Crap,' the boy thought, 'what are they made of? Did Jiraiya buy crappy balloons on purpose?' It felt like it. The old Sage definitely seemed to be amused by his failures.

'Maybe I should just forget about the balloons at all,' Naruto mused. 'That way I'll at least see what am I doing. And I'd use the balloon again when it looks like I'm getting close.'

He extended his hand and focused the chakra into his palm. A small vortex appeared there, rapidly growing bigger. It soon formed into a spinning ball with strands of chakra trailing behind it. 'It looks better than it used to,' the boy observed, but it still isn't good enough.' For the next few minutes, he concentrated on making the strands disappear, leaving only the sphere. He had little success, but he thought he managed to make them thinner and weaker. But it could have been just his wishful thinking. He took a little breather and then started again. Maybe he was deluding himself, but he felt like he was improving, though only slightly. He observed the chakra ball in his hand and then compared it with the balloons.

'It looks like the sphere is a tiny bit bigger than the balloons,' he observed. 'That means even if I did it right, that stupid balloons would still explode. Stupid Ero-Sennin. I bet he did it on purpose. I'm going to have a word with him whenever he comes back from his peeping.'

But the first one who came was Tsunade. Naruto blinked in surprise. She usually didn't show up so early in the day. Then he noticed that it was already noon. He had been so engrossed in his training that he forgot about the passage of time.

"Training?" she raised an eyebrow. "You should be taking it easy, you are wounded."

"I'm using the other arm," he answered, though in fact he wanted to say 'and just whose fault it is.' But he didn't want to have his other arm broken, so he held his tongue.

"I hope so, but it's your arm, not mine. Now let's have a look at it." She knelt beside him and activated her diagnosingtic jutsu. "It's healing well," she announced after a while. It doesn't seem like there would be an infection at this point."

"That's great," Naruto smiled.

"For you," Tsunade agreed. "So tell me, why were you practicing the Rasengan?"

"Ero-Sennin showed me to it."

"He's been always an idiot," the legendary healer scoffed. "The Rasengan was the Yondaime's prized jutsu. There's no way a little kid can get it right."

"Hey!" Naruto protested. "I'm already pretty close! Watch it!" He formed the Rasengan the best he could. The Slug Sannin watched it critically.

"I admit you're better than I thought, but I doubt you can make it work. You are just wasting time."

"That's not true!" the boy took offense. "I can do it! And even if I didn't, the training already helped me greatly with my original technique. So it isn't a waste of time."

"If you say so," she shrugged. "But I still say you won't be able to do it."

"I say I will!" Naruto's competitive spirit had awakened.

"I say you won't," Tsunade insisted.

"I will."

"Maybe when you grow up. But I won't be there to see it because we'll part ways in a week."

"Than I'll do it in a week," Naruto declared proudly. Somehow he felt like he could really do it.

"That's impossible," she scoffed.

"No, it isn't."

"I'm not going to convince you, am I?"

"No," he shook his head resolutely.

"Well than, let's make a bet," the sannin suggested. "If you can do it, I'll stick around for longer. I'll maybe even go back to Konoha, just to see how are you going to turn out. If you can't do it, you and Jiraiya won't ever bother me again."

"I can't make Jiraiya do anything," Naruto objected.

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of that. So are you on?"

"Yes!" he grinned. "So pack your things, Baa-chan, in a week you're coming with us."

"Don't call me baa-chan!" Tsunade' brow twitched. "I'm not that old! And don't be so sure you are going to win, because you are going to lose."

"But I will win. I will master the Rasengan in just a week," Naruto replied with a smirk.

"Ha! You think you are so good? There's no way you can do it."

"Not really," he shook his head. "You just made sure I will do it."

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"You bet against me, Legendary Sucker!"

* * *

The end for today.

Next time: Naruto trains. Will he master the Rasengan in time?


	42. The bet

**Author's note:** After a great delay, I finally present you the next chapter. I have no good excuse for it being too late. I just ran into a bit of a writing block with this one and I've been more inspired to write my other stories, so this one ended up on the back burner. I hope I'll be able to present you the next chapter sooner, I already started working on it.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Do I really have to repeat it every time? There isn't actually anybody who believes I do, is there?**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Murakami~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was sitting on the porch of the inn, spinning a ball of chakra in his right palm. He scowled as he saw the lines trailing behind it, forming a vortex. He had barely improved since he had made the bet with Tsunade. Sure, it was still the same day, but if he wanted to win, he had to progress faster.

"What are you doing, gaki?" Naruto nearly jumped, when he heard Jiraiya's voice right next to his ear. "Low situational awareness, that just wouldn't do," the Hermit shook his head. "I wasn't even trying to sneak up on you."

"Sorry," the boy answered sheepishly.

"Sorry?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "You can't tell an enemy ninja sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Could you please try sneaking up on me again?"

Naruto had to laugh when he imagined the situation.

"That's no laughing matter," the Toad Sage informed him. "If I were an enemy you would have been already dead."

"I'll pay more attention to my surroundings next time," Naruto promised.

"You better do. And now to the original question: what are you doing?"

"Training the Rasengan."

"Why aren't you using the balloons?" the Sannin inquired.

"They always pop. This way I can at least see what I am doing wrong. And Pervy Sage, those balloons are too small. They pop even if I do it right."

"No, they aren't," Jiraiya disagreed. "I can form a Rasengan inside one without any trouble. Look." He picked up a balloon and...

"I can't see anything," Naruto frowned. "The balloon is in the way." Jiraiya sighed and formed a Rasengan in his other palm.

"It's small enough to fit in, see?"

"Yes," Naruto admitted. Jiraiya's Rasengan was indeed small enough to fit into the balloon without any trouble. "But it shouldn't matter if my is bigger, should it?"

"It should."

"Really? Why?" the chuunin asked a bit disappointed.

"The smaller the orb, the more concentrated the chakra," the Sannin explained. "And the more concentrated chakra, the stronger the jutsu. It can drill through harder materials and do more damage."

"Oh," the blond blinked in disappointment. "But I can't make it that small in a week."

"A week?" the white-haired man raised an eyebrow. "Why would you want to complete it in a week?"

"I made a bet with Tsunade." And he explained the terms of the wager.

"Well, gaki," Jiraiya spoke when he finished, "you have a lot of work ahead of yourself. Because this one is a bet even the Legendary Sucker would have a lot of trouble to lose."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Naruto muttered sarcastically.

"You're welcome," the Gama Sennin smirked. "You are going to need it."

"Hey! You should be more helpful here! Any tips for me?"

"No," the white-haired man shook his head.

"I did it to help you!"

"Well, you took it by the wrong end," Jiraiya shrugged. "When you lose, I'm going to have a lot more trouble convincing Tsunade to return."

"When I lose?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Well, you don't really expect to win, do you?"

"Of course I do," the boy answered, offended.

"Then I shouldn't bother you anymore. Good luck with your training."

"Hey! What about the help?"

"Help yourself!" the Toad Sage answered and then he was gone, probably to peep again. Naruto sighed. Jiraiya was no help again. It looked like he had to figure it out on his own. And he should hurry. A week was an awfully short time. He spun the chakra in his palm again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near the inn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shizune watched as the boy trained diligently. She had no idea how far along in his training he was so she had no way to tell if he improved, but in the hour she spent observing him she didn't notice any progress. Not that she really expected it. She sighed. She wished him success, but so far it didn't seem likely. Her thought turned to what depended on his performance.

It had been years since she had left Konoha with Tsunade-sama. So many that she had lost count. Back then, she had been just a young girl following her greatest idol and the closest thing she had to family after Uncle Dan's death. She had graduated the Academy shortly before and she was looking forward to the adventures awaiting her in the world outside with wide, eager eyes.

Oh, how naive she used to be. Sure, there were some adventures to be had and she had learned a lot in the way of medicine from Tsunade-sama, but too often she had to drag her drunken mistress back from a bar or help he shake debt collectors. She still admired the Legendary Sannin and she had no-one else in the world, but she had gotten tired of this lifestyle years ago and she didn't know how much longer she could go on.

Her thoughts turned to Konoha. It had been so long since she last saw the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Would she even recognize it still? So much must have changed since she left. There must have been a lot of construction work after the Kyuubi attack. Was her old house still standing? She had no idea. And the Hokage Monument. Last time she saw it there had been only three faces. How did it look now?

And what about the people she knew? Her family had been dead before she had left, but there were still her friends and classmates. What had become of them? She had asked herself the question occasionally, but ever since meeting Jiraiya and his apprentice, it refused to leave her mind.

Yes, she wanted to return to Konoha very much and it all depended on one spur-of-the-moment bet and the results of this boy's training. She observed quietly as another chakra orb was nearly obscured by the trails following after it before dissipating. She sighed. So far, her return didn't seem likely. She'd have to help it if she wanted Naruto to succeed. She wanted to see her home again, no matter that it was currently at war. Maybe her skills would be needed to save some of her old acquaintances, who would have died otherwise.

She left her hiding spot and slowly walked over to the boy. He failed to notice her approach, being too focused on his latest attempt. Only when it dissolved he noticed and whirled to face her. By that time, she was just a few steps away from him.

"Shizune-san!" he greeted.

"Hello, Naruto," she smiled. "Do you realize that if I were an enemy you would have been already dead?" The blond looked sheepishly.

"I got the same lecture from Jiraiya earlier. It's just that I have to concentrate really hard to make it work at all."

"I can imagine," the dark-haired medic nodded. "I know how much concentration some of the medical techniques need, but you still have to remain aware of your surroundings. You can't do much if you're dead, can you?"

"No," he admitted. This was the second time in so many days he got surprised and he was feeling really ashamed of himself.

"Fortunately I'm not an enemy. I just came to see how were you doing."

Naruto grimaced. "I feel like I'm making no progress at all."

"What's the problem?" she inquired.

"What?" the boy blinked.

"I asked what the problem was, maybe I could help," Shizune elaborated.

"Why?" he asked with suspicion in his voice.

"So you can win," she explained like he should have already known it.

"I know, but why?"

"So we can all return to Konoha."

"Oh. You mean you can't return if I don't win?" Naruto questioned. She sighed.

"My place is with Tsunade-sama."

"Doesn't she want to return to Konoha as well?" the boy asked.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune nearly laughed. "Never."

"Then why did she make the bet?"

"She loves betting."

"I noticed, but why did she set such stakes? She could have wagered anything, but she bet she'd return to Konoha. That means she does want to return, at least a part of her does," the boy explained his reasoning.

"You don't know Tsunade-sama as well as I do," the woman disagreed. "She hates Konoha."

"But why would she make the bet then?" Naruto's face scrunched in concentration. "She must be prepared to lose."

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune shook her head. "She always believes she'd win."

"That makes no sense." The chuunin shook his head. "She is known as the Legendary Sucker far and wide."

"Well, it doesn't," the dark-haired medic shrugged. "A lot of things make no sense."

"Yeah, I noticed," the boy grimaced.

"So back to the original question: Do you need help?"

"Some help would be welcome," he admitted. "Only I don't see what you can do. It's just a matter of concentration."

"I know a lot about concentration," Shizune answered. "I believe I already told you. Medical ninjutsu are based on it."

"Oh, sorry." Naruto gave her an embarrassed grin.

"There's no need to apologize," the healer smiled warmly. "So how are you with your control?"

"Well," he scratched his head, "it always gave me trouble, but I train it a lot so it's okay, I guess."

"But this seems like a jutsu that needs more than just okay control," Tsunade's assistant pointed out.

"Yes, it seems so," the chuunin agreed.

"I can teach you some advanced control exercises," Shizune offered.

"That would be nice, but do you think I can master in time and still master the Rasengan?"

"Well," the medic thought back to how long it too her to master them and she had been older than Naruto at the time.

"I thought so," the blond sighed. "There just isn't enough time, is there?"

"A week really isn't a long time," she admitted.

"It's only six days now," Naruto corrected. "But it doesn't matter. Can you show me the exercises anyway? Maybe it will help. And if not, well," he shrugged, "at least I would learn something new."

"You have a point," Shizune smiled. "Let's start. Do you know the needle-balancing exercise?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The inn, evening~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was nearly dusk and Naruto was still sitting on the porch, spinning chakra in his hand. He was feeling tired, but he refused to quit. There was so much to do yet. The exercises Shizune had shown him were really interesting and he would remember them for later. He had the Rasengan to concentrate on. But learning better concentration would help, the healer was right about it. If he could only do both at once, but that would require Shadow Clones, which would require the use of handseals which would require using his injured arm and that was something Tsunade had expressly forbidden if he wanted it to heal anytime soon. But he really needed the extra help if he wanted to win the bet, and he did. So maybe once wouldn't hurt?

He looked around, checking whether someone was observing him. He felt a bit stupid doing it. Should he be afraid of his own allies? But he was glad when he wound nobody familiar. Not that he would spot them if they didn't want to be spotted, they were too good for that.

He brought his uninjured right hand to the injured left one. He winced. It hurt, but he had survived worse. He slowly began forming the necessary seals. It was gratingly sluggish, but his injury didn't allow him to move faster. But it didn't really matter, he was in no rush. He finished and ten clones appeared around him. He sighed in relief when he could finally let his wounded arm hang on the sling again.

"You know what to do," he told his clones and each of them began an exercise from Shizune's arsenal. Some seemed to struggle, because they could use only one arm, but most could train without any trouble. Naruto returned to spinning the Rasengan. He could only hope that the extra control would help.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Several days later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tsunade stood silently as she watched the blond brat train. She had to admit she was impressed with his determination, if nothing else. Every time she came to check on him, he was training. And she had to admit, he was making progress. It wasn't enough to make it in time in her opinion, but it was far better than she gave him credit for. The concentration and chakra-control exercises the clones were working on must be helping. She couldn't even find it in herself to scold him for using his injured hand. When she had checked it yesterday, it had been healing just fine, so there was really no need. In just a few days, the boy would be fully healed and they would be on their merry way, never to see each other again.

Tsunade sighed. She felt a pang of some unpleasant emotion at that thought, she didn't bother to analyze which one. But she had no reason to be unhappy, right? Sure, seeing Jiraiya again had brought back some unpleasant memories, but they tended to pop up on their own from time to time, so it was really nothing new. And soon everything was going to be just like it used to. Then what reason she had to feel uncomfortable?

Then a traitorous thought entered her mind. Maybe she didn't want everything to get back to the old status quo? Well, of course she didn't. If she could return time to when Dan and Nawaki were still alive, then she would be happy, but she realized the impossibility of such occurrence. Getting back to wandering the world with Shizune was all she had to look forward to. Only she wasn't really looking forward to it.

'I'm getting all mushy today,' she thought. She had noticed before that the blond brat bore certain similarities with her late brother. It hurt her, but it also comforted her. Even Jiraiya reminded her of the good old times before everything went to hell. She realized that she didn't want the week to end; she wanted to spend more time around them. But they would only try to drag her back to Konoha and there was no way she was returning there. The pain was still too sharp, even after so many years have passed. And she didn't want to lose anyone else again. She had only Shizune left now and she couldn't imagine what she would do without her. And she was sure that Konoha would take her away eventually, and probably in some gruesome manner, because they were in war after all.

But maybe... maybe things would be different this time? Nah, she shook her head fiercely. Even the Legendary Sucker wouldn't bet on such odds. But what was she to do? Wait for Naruto to fail, pack her things, leave and drink to forget? What else could she do?

She sighed and returned to her silent observation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Naruto~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The boy sighed. He was making progress but it was too slow. Only two days remained until the deadline and he could already tell that he wasn't going to make it at this pace. He spun the ball of chakra on his palm again. There were much less strands trailing behind it now, but that was still too much. He scowled. He wished he could just swat them away, and he would have done so, if he could. But his left arm was still in a cast. He scowled deeper. Stupid Tsunade. First she breaks his arm and then she makes that bet, which would have been hard to complete even if he were able to perform to his full capacity. Damn it, this way it looked like the Legendary Sucker was actually going to win a gamble. And because that would mean he would lose, he was determined not to let it happen. But what could he do?

"Something bothering you, boss?" One of his clones asked while balancing a senbon needle on each of his fingertips.

"I just can't get it right," the original Naruto complained.

"I see. Well, at least I'm doing well, Look," he boasted just as the needles fell.

"Or maybe not so well," the original chuckled.

"Sorry," the clone grinned sheepishly.

"Nothing makes a person as happy as seeing another's misfortune," the original said. "Only you aren't really someone else."

"Yes, it looks like we both suck," the clone nodded philosophically. "Or should I say you suck twice?"

"You shouldn't say anything or I'm going to dispel you," the original threatened.

"Maybe it would improve your control enough to actually do it," the clone suggested half-sarcastically.

"Maybe," the original Naruto sighed. "I just want to beat that stupid ball until it works right, but I have only one arm."

"I think if you really tried to beat it, then you would really have just one arm afterwards, boss," the clone pointed out.

"I know," the original nodded. "But I still wish I could go at it with two hands."

"You have one hand, I have one hand, that means we have two hands together. And because I am you, that means you have two hands!"

"You're crazy," the original shook his head. "Are you really me?"

"I am," the clone nodded. "And if I am crazy, that means you are too."

"Don't even remind me. But... hey! That's an idea?"

"Uh, what?" The clone tried in vain to figure out what did his creator mean by it.

"That you have one hand and you have one hand, that means we have two hands together!"

"Uh, sure," the clone scratched his head, still not getting it.

"You'll lend me your hand and we'll do it together."

"You know that if you take my hand I'll dispel," the clone asked.

"I don't mean that, silly," the original reassured him. "Honestly, are you even me? I'm sure I'm not that dumb."

"I'm not so sure."

"Seriously, don't push it or I'll really pop you and make a new one," Naruto threatened.

"I'm quiet now," the clone threw up his healthy arm defensively. "So what's your plan?"

"I'll form a Rasengan and you try to keep that strands under control. Got it?"

"I think so. But how do you figure out I should do it?"

"Uh..."

"I thought so," the clone smirked. "You have no idea."

"I already told you to shut up. Let's just do it and we'll figure it out on the go. That's what we are best at, isn't it?"

"Of course."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Inn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It healed well," Tsunade stated when she concluded the examination of Naruto's arm. "Now hold still for a while longer, I'm going to remove the cast."

"Thanks, Tsunade-baa-chan," Naruto grinned. "I couldn't stand it."

"How did you just call me?" a vein pulsed in her brow. "Watch it or I'll give you a reason to wear it for another month." The boy grimaced. A week had been bad enough. A month... he didn't even want to imagine it. He stayed silent as the legendary medic removed the bandages from his arm. When she finished, he sighed in relief. He flexed his muscles experimentally.

"Not so fast," Tsunade berated him. "You don't want to tear something so soon after healing, do you?" But it was just too good a feeling to be finally able to move his arm freely.

"It's all fine," he grinned. "You are the best healer after all."

"That I am," she grinned back, "so don't mess up my work."

"I won't," he promised. "Or do you think I like being all bandaged up?"

"Gaki, you haven't been all bandaged up yet," she reminded him.

"Yes, that's true," he nodded. "My best attempt was three-quarters."

"That aside, do you remember what day is today?"

"Yes," the boy nodded in apprehension.

"You don't look too sure of yourself," the woman observed. "Could it be that you haven't completed the jutsu yet?"

"I still have until sunset," he blurted out.

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow. "I suppose you do. Our bet didn't state what time today you have to show it. But honestly, do you think you can complete it in," she looked at the position of the sun, "five hours? That's not much time. Better show me now and spare yourself the anxiety. Or can't you do it?"

"You bet I can!" he boasted, despite feeling quite unsure.

"I think not," she shook her head. "I've already bet you can't do it, remember?"

"I do," he nodded. "But if you bet that I can do it, you'd win for sure." Tsunade laughed.

"That won't be much of a bet. So can you do it or not?" she prompted. "I don't have a whole day for you."

"You don't?" he questioned. "What's so important you have to do it today?"

"Stuff."

"Stuff?" the boy asked skeptically.

"Yes, stuff," she answered in a tone that said 'don't ask.' Even Naruto got it.

"Okay," he nodded. "Here it goes." He joined his hands in the Ram seal and created a clone.

"Kage Bunshin?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "That looks nothing like the Rasengan."

"I know," he nodded. "I'm getting to it right away."

"I'm waiting," she prompted.

Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment to compose himself. He had made great progress in the last two days, but he still couldn't eliminate the stray strands completely. But he almost had it. Sometimes, for a moment the Rasengan looked perfect before some of the chakra strayed from its intended path again. He could only do his best and hope it would be good enough for Tsunade.

He extended his palm upwards and spun the vortex of chakra in it. It quickly formed into a ball with strands of chakra trailing behind it. The clone extended his hand over it, adjusting the flow of chakra so that the strands would disappear. But it still wasn't perfect. There were still strands trailing behind and there were more of them than the last time he tried. Damn it, he was so worried about the bet he couldn't concentrate properly. And Tsunade looked just about ready to call him a loser. And that just wouldn't do. If he just had another hand to... wait, he did! After a week, he could finally use his left hand too. He quickly brought it to the sphere, the clone mirroring his action. Together they shaped the chakra in the jutsu, eliminating the strands completely. They held it that way for about two seconds before letting it dissipate.

Naruto dismissed the clone and turned to Tsunade with a victorious smirk. "So how did you like it?" She didn't look happy.

"Well, though I have to admit that you made a perfect Rasengan for a while, I honestly cannot say you completed it."

"What?" the boy blinked in shock. "Why?" She lifted her hand and started counting the reasons on her fingers.

"For once, you needed a clone to form it. That's too inconvenient in battle. Second: you needed both hands to form it and both of the clone's hands. True Rasengan is formed with just one hand."

"Oh come on, I formed it, didn't I?" Naruto whined in dismay.

"Three," she continued. "When you formed the sphere, it was completely surrounded by your hands. That means you couldn't smash it into anything. Therefore it's useless."

"I can remove the extra hands before I attack," he objected.

"Oh, I'm sure you can, but can you keep the chakra properly concentrated afterwards?"

"Uh..."

"I thought so," she nodded. "You can't. I'm sorry but it looks like you lost."

"It's not evening yet," he reminded her.

"And you think you can improve before then? Well," she shrugged, "I can wait for you to make a fool of yourself again."

"I won't," he assured her. "I will do it."

"Strong words, boy, but I doubt you will be able to back them up. Either you can perform the Rasengan with just one hand before evening comes, or I'm going to be rid of you and that old toad for good."

"Oh, come on, Hime, don't be so harsh," a familiar voice sounded form nearby. Tsunade sharply looked around. Her eyes narrowed in irritation.

"Jiraiya. How long have you been here?"

"I just arrived," the Hermit answered. "And you have to agree that the boy did form a perfect Rasengan. You're just grasping for straws so you won't have to come with us."

"You're the one grasping at straws to make me return," she shot back.

"That's not true," the Toad Sage defended.

"It is, and don't try to deny it," she snapped back.

"Then I'll just have to learn to make the Rasengan with fewer hands before evening," Naruto interjected.

"Don't be ridiculous," Tsunade scoffed. "There's just no way you can make it."

"Wait and see, baa-chan." He made the familiar cross-seal. "Kage Bunshin!" a whole army of his copies appeared around him. "Now this gives me a lot of extra training time."

"There's just more of you to do it wrong the same way," she opposed.

"What do you know?" he shrugged. "Come back this evening and see for yourself."

"I will," she promised. "And now excuse me, I have to pack."

"Do so, because you're going with us!" Naruto called after her retreating back.

"In your dreams!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tsunade's inn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So did he make it?" Shizune asked when her mistress returned.

"No," the Sanin replied. "He insists he still have time until sunset, but there's no way he's going to make it."

"I see," her assistant replied, looking at the ground.

"What is it, Shizune?" Tsunade asked upon seeing her apprentice so downtrodden.

"Nothing, Tsunade-sama."

"Don't give me that. I can't remember the last time I've seen you so down. What is it?" Shizune didn't answer. "Did you want him to win?" The younger woman averted her eyes.

"I just hoped I could see Konoha again. It's been so long."

"You can go with them if you want," the legendary medic offered. "I don't hold you here."

"No," Shizune shook her head, "My place is with you, Tsunade-sama, wherever you go."

"You look sad," the older woman remarked.

"It's nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing."

"It really is nothing," Shizune shook her head. "Let's just pack." Tsunade didn't answer. She just stood there, observing her apprentice with a pensive look on her face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Inn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto dismissed the clones one by one, slowly absorbing their memories. One look at the sky showed him that sundown was very close now. Only minutes remained before the shining orb would touch the horizon and the time would be up. It was both too soon and not soon enough. He was nearly exhausted now. All the training drained his chakra faster than even Kyuubi could replenish it. If he had to do another half-hour of it, he would have collapsed. But now was the time to examine the results of his training.

He extended his right palm, spinning the chakra in it. It was better than his previous attempts, but still not good enough. He helped it with his other hand. The jutsu improved immediately, but it still wasn't a perfect sphere. He gave up, let the technique dissipate and created a clone. Using three hands, he could form a perfect Rasengan, but that was still using two hands too many. He sighed. Tsunade would never accept that as a completed jutsu and he couldn't argue with her. This way it was really useless in a battle.

He looked at the sky again. The sun had already disappeared behind the nearby buildings, but their roofs were still illuminated by its rays. He had merely minutes before Tsunade would show up. There was no way he could complete the jutsu in that time.

"Don't be so down," Jiraiya tried to cheer him. "You came much further than I expected. I'm sure soon you'll be able to do the Rasengan no problem."

"But we're still going to lose the bet," the boy reminded him.

"So what?" the Sage shrugged. "I never counted on you winning anyway. I'll find another way to convince Tsunade-hime to return. In fact, I'm already working on something." He winked conspiratorially.

"Really?" the boy asked skeptically.

"Really," the porn writer confirmed. "What do you think I've been doing the whole week?"

"Peeping?"

"Is that what you think of me?" Naruto's expression was answer enough. "Gaki, in case you haven't noticed it yet, I can do my job if I want to."

"And how often do you want?"

"More often than you think."

"That isn't much," Naruto muttered. "So what did you do?"

"That I can't say. It wouldn't work if I did."

"Then how do I know you aren't pulling my leg?"

"You don't and you don't need to know. Oh, and look, our guests of honor are here." Naruto turned his head to see where Jiraiya was pointing. Sure enough, Tsunade and Shizune were slowly walking to them. He put on his best smile. Or he tried to. It came off as a strained grimace instead. Meanwhile, the two women reached them and stopped.

"So brat," Tsunade prompted. "Show me what you have."

"Sure," the boy nodded, licking his lips nervously. He showed her his three-handed Rasengan. He feared he wouldn't make even this, being barely able to concentrate, but he managed. 'What's wrong with me,' he thought. 'I'm usually calmer on battlefield and there's no enemy around here.' Yet his heart beat too loudly when he watched Tsunade's face for her reaction. He knew she was going to scorn him again, but he still couldn't help but hope.

"Well," she said slowly, "I guess it will have to do."

"Yes," he hung his head sadly, "I know... what?" he blinked in surprise. "What did you just say?"

"I said it would have to do, brat," she repeated. "Or should I examine your ears? You seem to have some trouble hearing."

"No it's just... you said earlier..."

"What's so hard to understand?" the Slug Princess shrugged. "I just decided that it was good enough after all."

"So you are coming back with us?" the boy asked.

"Yes," she confirmed.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said tearfully.

"Don't thank me," the older woman replied.

"I'm so glad you decided to come, Tsunade-hime," Jiraiya grinned. "Konoha's hot springs just weren't the same without you." A vein pulsed in Tsunade's forehead.

"Jiraiya," she spoke slowly, "I agreed to come back, but if you push it, I might still change my decision. And besides," she continued cracking her knuckles, "nobody ever said that you have to return too."

"I'm sorry," he apologized hurriedly. "I'm just overjoyed to have my princess back."

"Well, I suppose I can forgive you this once," she shrugged. "You were always a moron. But remember this: I'm not _your _princess."

"Whatever you say, Tsunade-hime," the Toad Sage replied with a face-splitting grin. "Whatever you say."

* * *

That's it for now.

Next time: The return to Konoha and some action. Things have been too quiet for Naruto recently.


	43. Fear of blood

**Author's note:** I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but I ran into a bit of a writer's block when working on the end. On a positive note, I reached the part of the story I have prewritten, so there would be several quick updates.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group had been traveling at a steady pace for several days until they reached the outskirts of the great forest, in which the Village Hidden in the Leaves stood. Upon seeing it, Tsunade paused.

"What it is?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing, squirt," she replied. He looked at her dubiously. "It's just that..." she began, then stopped and shook her head. "It's just me being sentimental. Let's go."

"Let's go," Jiraiya agreed. "We shouldn't dawdle if we want to reach the gates before sunset." The group moved again. But they covered barely a mile when they stopped again, this time because of Naruto.

"What's the matter?" the Toad Sage asked when he saw the chuunin standing still on a branch, hypnotizing the nearby foliage and sniffing the air.

"I thought I smelled something," the blond boy explained, "but it was too faint and I can smell it anymore."

"What was it?" the spymaster inquired.

"I'm not sure," Naruto shrugged.

"So close to the village, it's probably nothing," the white-haired man shrugged. "And besides, there are teams of ANBU making rounds around here, so even if it was something, they would deal with it. Let's move on." He turned around and wanted to jump further, but at the moment a strong gust of wind brought more of the mysterious smell. This time it was strong enough for Naruto to recognize.

"It's blood! Fresh!" he exclaimed.

"Really?" Jiraiya asked, suddenly all serious. Tsunade shuddered.

"Really," the jinchuuriki confirmed.

"So close to the village? That doesn't sound good. We have to investigate," the Gama Sennin decided and took off in the direction the wind was blowing from.

It didn't take them long to find the source of the smell. Despite somebody trying to conceal it, they discovered the remains of four Konoha ANBU buried under a heap of dry leaves.

"Who could have done it?" Naruto asked, looking around nervously. Tsunade stood several paces away, pointedly looking the other direction. Shizune was watching her with worry in her face.

"The enemy, who else," the Toad Sage shrugged. "And they are still close, this happened less than half an hour ago."

"How did they get so close to Konoha?"

"It must be a small infiltration team, but strong enough to take on a squad of ANBU. Any larger force would have been spotted long ago."

"Are we going to go after them?" the boy inquired.

"Yes," the Gama Sennin confirmed. "And you, be careful. No needless heroics. Whoever those guys are, they are above your level. So don't get yourself killed."

"Got it," Naruto nodded. "Let's go."

"Let's go."

They followed the trail. The enemy tried to cover their tracks and they didn't do a shabby job, but Jiraiya was too good to let it fool him. They ran for a few minutes when Jiraiya, who had been running at the point, suddenly jumped up and latched himself onto a high branch. Naruto, running right behind him, didn't react in time and ran straight into a tripwire. A hail of kunai flew from a nearby tree, heading right for him. Naruto crouched down. Most of the kunai flew right over his head, only two embedded themselves harmlessly in his chuunin vest. Fortunately the creator of the trap didn't count on someone so small tripping it.

Just as Naruto wanted to sigh in relief for surviving it, an all-too-familiar sizzling sound reached his ears. Explosive Notes! And they were somewhere below him. And he was in the flying through the air, with nothing to grab onto to change his course. He did the only thing he could think of: trying to counter the explosion with opposite force. He took a deep breath, quickly filling the air with Wind chakra. And then he Screamed. The gust of chakra-charged air clashed with the flames of the explosion and pushed them back. Then the flames gained strength for a moment, but then the Tags burned completely and the fire died down.

Naruto landed on a nearby branch, breathing heavily. That had been too close for comfort.

"Nice job, brat," Jiraiya remarked sarcastically. "Now they know we're after them."

"Sorry," the boy offered weakly.

"Honestly, didn't you see the wire? It was in plain sight."

"Stop arguing, they're getting away," Tsunade reminded them. They resumed pursuit, this time with more caution. They found two more traps, but they managed to bypass them without setting them off. Then suddenly Jiraiya waved his hand, signaling them to stop.

"They're close," he announced looking around. Then an Exploding Note suddenly went off behind his back, throwing him into Tsunade.

"Closer than you think," somebody announced as kunai and shuriken began raining from the trees.

"Earth wall!" Jiraiya called despite his shaken state. The jutsu created a barrier around them, stopping the attack.

"Raiton: Shuurai!" called somebody outside. In the next moment a shock of electricity ran through Jiraiya's wall, disrupting the chakra in the jutsu, making the wall crumble. This was further assisted by an Exploding Note slammed to the weakened place. When it detonated the wall, the attackers realized that the space inside was empty. The Konoha ninja used the Moguragakure no Jutsu to escape. Jiraiya was dragging Naruto with him, because the chuunin knew no Earth techniques.

"Doton: Retsuda Tenshou!" another voice cried and the earth started twisting, forcing the four Leaf shinobi to come out lest the soil would crush them. The attackers were already waiting for it. As soon as they saw Jiraiya's white head emerge from the ground, one of them immediately slashed it in two with his sword. The head dissolved into mud. In the next moment, he was hit by a Katon: Endan, courtesy of the real Jiraiya, who appeared from the earth a few paces behind him. The attack was strong enough to deep-fry him, even signing the ninja standing next to him and setting his sleeve on fire. Then one of his colleagues attacked Jiraiya with an Earth Spear. The Sannin dodged. The battle was underway.

Naruto jumped to the nearest tree as soon as he emerged from the ground. Despite his confidence in his abilities, he knew that he was nowhere near his companions and shouldn't get in their way. Jiraiya had informed him earlier that in such battle, his main concern should be staying alive and letting him deal with the enemies. Unfortunately for him, it looked like simply staying alive was going to take a lot of work. One of the enemies, who he now recognized as an Iwa ninja, pegged him down as the weakest one and decided to take him out of the fight before he could stab somebody in the back.

The Iwa ninja attacked him with a punch. Naruto jumped to the side at the last moment and the fist hit the tree trunk, shattering it, sending splinters flying everywhere. The boy blinked in surprise. He had never seen somebody so physically strong, except Tsunade, but he had never seen her demonstrate her legendary ability at full power. He had no time to ponder over it. He was forced to dodge a kick aiming at his midsection. He jumped on the next tree, drawing his ninjato in the process. He did it just in time to block another punch. That Iwa man was really fast in following him.

Naruto tried to gain some distance, because the enemy shinobi was clearly superior to him when it came to close-range combat. But the man wouldn't let him. He surpassed him in speed as well. It was all the young chuunin could do to avoid the strikes. He couldn't even concentrate on charging his blade with Wind chakra. His first attempt didn't sharpen the blade enough and after the Rock shinobi nearly knocked it from his grasp, he couldn't do it again.

Then followed a blow he couldn't dodge. He had barely the time to put his sword in the path of the fist. The impact sent him flying. 'Damn it,' he thought, 'he struck the edge with his knuckles and they weren't even bleeding. Just how is he doing it?'

But the flight gave him the time he needed. He ignored the pain in his hands and concentrated on the flow of chakra into his sword. Before he landed, there was a sharp, deadly and invisible extension on the blade. He finished just in time. The enemy had jumped and now was waiting for him on the tree. Naruto twisted in the air and slashed his sword at him. The Iwa ninja dodged. 'So he saw the blade,' the chuunin thought. 'He's good. But he dodged. Does it mean Wind chakra can hurt him?'

He landed on a branch, automatically using his chakra to stick to it. The enemy watched him cautiously, pondering his next attack. It gave Naruto the time he needed to adjust the grip on his ninjato to one-handed and activate the Whirlwind fist on his left arm. The Rock ninja still didn't attack. It made warning bells ring in the blond's head. What was the man up to?

Naruto attacked. The enemy made a half-hearted attempt to block it. Naruto's weapon sliced right through his arm, making it dissolve into mud. 'Clone!' the boy though just as he heard the tell-tale sizzling of an activated Exploding Tag. A Kawarimi with a nearby log got him out of the way of the blast, but his clothes were still singed. And then he realized he landed on another Explosive note. 'Damn him, he guessed where would I dodge,' the Konoha shinobi thought as he flung himself far away from the blast note. The explosion sent him flying even further.

He rolled on the ground, grateful that he didn't crash into a tree. Unfortunately he lost his weapon during his flight. Fortunately the Iwa shinobi lost sight of him and Naruto had time to gather his bearings. He stood up, activating his Whirlwind Fist.

A subtle shift in the air informed him that somebody was attacking him from behind. He lunged to the side, narrowly avoiding the fist intended to crush his spine. He pivoted on his heel, punching the attacker's back. The Wind blades enveloping his forearm destroyed a large chunk of his flak jacket, but didn't wound him any. The Iwa nin retaliated with a punch aimed at his ribs. Naruto blocked with his left forearm. It felt like the bones there were breaking, but they held. And blood appeared on his opponent's fist. If his forearm didn't hurt so much, the boy would have smiled. First blood went to him.

Unfortunately first blood meant little in a life-or-death battle. The Rock shinobi spent only a fraction of a second to reassure himself that all his fingers were still attached before he charged at Naruto again. The chuunin dropped to the ground, trying to take out one of the attacker's legs. The Iwa ninja jumped over his swing.

Naruto took a deep breath and as the enemy was turning around to attack him, he let out a Scream. He didn't manage to charge it to its full power, but it still sent the larger man skidding backwards, tiny cuts appearing on his body. He didn't let it faze him and after a second he charged again. By that time Naruto was jumping into the nearest tree, creating a bunch of Shadow Clones on the way. The Iwa ninja hesitated, losing sight of his original target. Then he began destroying the clones one by one.

Naruto hid in the tree, taking a short breather. He couldn't beat his opponent just by strength alone. He was too fast to let him use his more powerful jutsu and the weaker ones had little effect. And Naruto's left forearm still hurt too much to be useful in the fight. He needed some strategy to distract the Iwa shinobi and sneak up on him with something powerful. But what kind of distraction the man wouldn't see through? And what kind of technique would be strong enough to break through his hardened skin?

The Rock ninja destroyed the last of his clones, but Naruto already had a plan in mind. He quickly formed a new bunch of clones and sent them to attack. They attempted a Firestorm, but the man blocked it with a Mud Wall. He followed with Doton: Doryuu Taiga, which turned the earth under the clones' feet into mud, dragging them down and dispelling them. Then he broke out of his protective shell, looking for his original opponent.

That was what Naruto had been waiting for. Another batch of clones were already in action. Three jumped straight at him, their Whirlwind fist activated. The Rock Ninja threw three shuriken, reducing the clones into three puffs of chakra smoke. Then he turned around to face the one coming from behind. And paused. That ball of chakra in its hands, could it be...

The moment of hesitation nearly cost him. The clone with the incomplete Rasengan was nearly upon him. He quickly snapped out of his shock and dodged the attack, punched the clone and destroyed it. He barely noticed someone behind him until that someone nearly hit him. He leaned forward, the attacker's punch becoming only a slight tap on his back. He whirled around, kicking the clone into oblivion. Then he registered a familiar sizzling noise and a burning sensation on his back. That last clone placed and Explosive Tag right inside the hole in his vest! He reached back, trying to remove it, but he didn't make it. The Tag went off, killing him nearly instantly.

Naruto exhaled in relief. That had been close, but he prevailed. He jumped to where he spotted his dropped ninjato in the grass and picked his up. During the fight, he moved away from where the others were battling. So what should he do? Go there and possibly get in the way or wait and possibly let some of his comrades get killed? It was a tough choice. In the end he decided to look how the battle was going. He sent a clone. A minute later he received its memories.

Jiraiya was doing well. He could see the mangled remnants of two of his opponents and the Toad Sage had no trouble keeping the remaining two at bay. It was just a matter of time when he would prevail.

Tsunade was worse off. As one of their enemies was killed in front of her, she got sprayed with his blood and she froze. She was standing there trembling, her mind locked in the past, probably not even realizing that there were two highly skilled Iwa shinobi out for her blood. Shizune did her best to protect her mistress, but to Naruto it looked like it wouldn't be enough. He waited for nothing and rushed to their aid.

He arrived in the nick of time. The bigger of the Iwa duo had engaged Shizune in a fierce taijutsu battle she couldn't disengage from and the other one used the opportunity to slip behind Tsunade and tried to slit her throat. He was forced to abandon his intent when Naruto jumped from a tree, kicking his shoulder and pushing him away.

The Rock ninja recuperated quickly, slashing at Naruto with his kunai. The boy ducked underneath it, but the man sent him flying with a kick to his chin. Believing his opponent to be down for the time being, he turned back to the defenseless Tsunade. He didn't count on how quickly could Naruto recuperate. Though the boy wasn't sure whether he still had all his teeth, he quickly sat up and hurled three shuriken at the enemy. The man blocked them easily, but was forced to abandon his attack on Tsunade.

"You don't have enough, brat?" the man sneered. "Then I'll have to teach you! Doton: Doryuusou!" Naruto tried to jump away the moment the ninja started calling out the jutsu, but he was too slow. Spears formed from the earth, trying to impale him. He managed to avoid most of them, but two hit him anyway, one sliding along his ribs, the other piercing his side. He cried out in pain. The Iwa ninja pressed his attack. He threw a hail of kunai at the chuunin. Naruto, slowed down by his wounds, wasn't able to get out of the way. Some of them got lodged in his flak jacket, but some pierced his legs and arms. He barely managed to protect his head and neck.

"Still alive?" the Rock ninja remarked. "I'll have to do something about that."

Naruto realized that his situation was dire. He grabbed his ninjato with his left arm (his right one was injured too badly to move properly) and charged it with Wind chakra. The Iwa ninja leapt closer. Naruto slashed at him. The man threw a kunai, hitting Naruto's arm and making him drop the sword. Then stepped on his forearm. Naruto nearly cried in pain as the already bruised bones were nearly crushed once again. The boy took a deep breath, attempting a Slicing Scream. A foot stomping on his chest made him release the air before he could charge it with chakra. Then, with a sadistic smile, he knelt down, intent to stab Naruto in the throat.

Naruto gathered his strength and tried to block the attack with his right arm. But he was too injured and all he managed was to deflect it to his chest instead. The Iwa ninja pulled the weapon out with a sickening sound, ready to stab again. Naruto could do nothing to stop him. He could barely breathe. The wound in his chest prevented him. He knew he was going to die. He wanted to do something about it, but his body wouldn't move. He could only watch the kunai descend.

And then it suddenly disappeared from his field of vision, alongside with its wielder. He blinked in confusion. What did just happen? He turned his head. Or maybe his head just fell on its own because he couldn't keep it upright anymore. There he saw Shizune battling with his would-be killer. The young medic had overcome her earlier opponent and rushed to his assistance. Naruto watched her exchange blows with him. He could immediately tell that she was losing. Her previous battle rendered her left arm nearly useless and she was favoring her right leg.

He wanted to help her, but he was unable to. He was too tired and cold. That meant his wound was really, really bad. He didn't feel this weak even after falling off the cliff during his first mission. Just what did that man hit? He could feel Kyuubi's healing trying to do its magic, but it was too slow. It couldn't even stop the bleeding. Maybe if he released more of its power? But that would mean he'd lose control over it. And then what? And what if he didn't do it? He was too tired to think about such serious matters. He just wanted to sleep. A part of his mind told him that he probably wouldn't wake again, but he was too tired to care.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shizune fought with all she had, but she was barely keeping herself alive. Only Tsunade's rigorous training in dodging and evading saved her from a fatal injury, but she could already tell that it won't last. With one hand injured she couldn't block effectively and her leg wound prevented her from moving around freely. Her opponent was nearly uninjured and stronger than her. Only her speed was still keeping her in the fight. She needed some edge, but what? She had used up her supply of poisoned needles and the Rock ninja didn't give her the time necessary to form handseals. Not that she could form them properly with two of her fingers broken. So what else was there to do?

Before she could come up with anything, there was a white blur and the Iwa shinobi fell down dead.

"Jiraiya-sama!" the medic nin exclaimed, relieved.

"Are you alright?" the Toad Sage asked.

"I'll live," Tsunade's apprentice answered. "But Naruto is wounded!" She raced towards the prone boy. She checked him over briefly.

"It's bad," she concluded. "The bleeding is too severe and I can't stop it. I think even his bronchi was damaged, but I can't be sure. I can't activate my healing jutsu properly." She held out her injured hands. "We need Tsunade-sama to help him." She looked to the still inert form of her teacher. Jiraiya did the same.

"And the princess is still out of it," he muttered. "Hey, Tsunade-hime, snap out of it, you have a critical patient here." The woman didn't react. She continued staring in the distance and shaking. "Hey, Tsunade-hime, snap out of it. Naruto needs you." Did the expression in her eyes change? Jiraiya wasn't sure. Otherwise she showed no outward sign of having heard him. "No choice now," the super-pervert sighed and grabbed Tsunade around her torso, making sure his hands grabbed her bosom. Usually that would have earned him a punch strong enough to send him to lower Earth orbit. In these circumstances, he would have welcomed it, but now it had absolutely no effect.

He lifted the prone woman and carried her over to Naruto. "Wake up! He needs you, see?" Tsunade just shivered harder. "Suiton: Mizurappa," Jiraiya said, spitting a small jet of water on Tsunade's back. He made sure to use as little chakra in the technique as possible, but it still toppled the woman over. But the cold water accomplished what his groping couldn't. Tsunade woke up from her stupor.

"W-what..." she stuttered, obviously still in shock.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune shouted. "Please help him! He's dying and I can't heal him!"

"B-blood," the blond Sannin muttered, about to slip back to her catatonia.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Jiraiya shouted. "He needs you! You can tremble all you want afterwards!"

"So much blood," Tsunade whispered. What was in front of her was interposed with her memories. Who was lying prone before her? Naruto or Dan? Did it matter? Both of them were bleeding, their life seeping away, flowing into the dark soil and onto her hands. Her hands were covered in blood as she tried to help him, her hands glowing with the Mystic Palm technique, but it was all in vain. The bleeding wouldn't stop. The artery was sliced open. She moved her fingers, concentrating her healing on that spot. It started closing faster. She nodded to herself. That was one problem solved. Now for the tear in his bronchi that was giving him trouble breathing. It wouldn't do if he drowned in his own blood.

Shizune was watching with equal part hope and disbelief. Tsunade was actually healing Naruto. That was a good sign, despite the faraway look in her eyes, suggesting that she wasn't fully conscious of what was going on. She barely dared to breathe, fearing that she might break the Sannin's concentration. If Tsunade realized now that her hands were covered in blood and snapped again...

Tsunade meanwhile was working relentlessly. She didn't really see who she was treating, only the open wound in his chest. And the blood leaking out, but slowing down. Was her technique working or was there no more blood left in the body? It was the first. It must be the first. She couldn't let Dan die on her again. She wouldn't survive it.

Finally, after what felt like eternity, the wound was closed. It was still far from healed, but it wasn't bleeding anymore. Dan will survive. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, uncaring that she was smearing the blood on her face. She sighed in relief. She looked at Dan's face. Only it wasn't Dan. She blinked in confusion. Who was that boy? What did happen? And then it started going back to her. They had been attacked on their way to Konoha and the child in front of her was Naruto. And Dan was long dead. She blinked back the tears the memory of him brought. She had no time to fall apart. The patient still wasn't out of danger.

"Shizune," she called.

"Tsunade-sama?" the girl asked with disbelief.

"Help me secure him for transport. We have to get him to Konoha quickly."

"Yes." Shizune smiled. It was good to see her teacher so focused and business-like again. And most of all, uncaring that she was completely covered in blood. The young woman wasn't sure whether her phobia was completely gone or whether it would rear its head again, but now she finally had hope. If Tsunade could overcome her fear once, she could do it again.

They were almost finished securing Naruto for transport, when Jiraiya appeared with an unconscious Iwa nin slung over his shoulder. "This one's still alive," he explained. "The T&I would like to have a chat with him. That is if he lives that long. I messed him pretty bad. It's worrisome how they were able to get so close to Konoha undetected. And judging from the amount of Explosive Tags they had on them, they were about to blow something up."

"How did they intend to get into Konoha?" Shizune asked.

"I wish I knew," Jiraiya sighed. "I just hope they didn't count on inside help."

"Traitors?" Tsunade questioned.

"I hope not. Because that's the last thing Konoha needs."

Nothing more was said. The procession headed somberly towards the village gates and the hospital.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Welcome home, Tsunade," Sarutobi greeted his old pupil sincerely.

"Sensei," the Slug Princess replied. She didn't trust herself to speak more. The return to her hometown stirred more emotions in her than she had expected. At first, she was too preoccupied with tending to the wounded boy to think about them, but now she couldn't hide behind her cold professionalism anymore, they hit her with full force. She had a hard time categorizing what each of them meant.

"It's been so long since you visited here. Maybe even too long."

"It doesn't feel long enough. And yet sometimes it feels like an eternity," she spoke, grateful that her voice remained steady. The Sandaime chuckled.

"Time has this annoying habit to flow both too fast and too slow. But that doesn't matter now. We have more pressing concerns to address." Both their faces turned grim.

"Yes," she sighed. "So what do you want me to do, sensei? Because I don't think I could go into battle again. For the first time in ages, I've been able to look at blood without freezing, but I don't want to see it spilled if I don't have to."

"Your greatest value was never on the battlefield anyway," the Third replied. "What about returning to your old duties as a medic? Would you take over the Konoha Hospital?"

"That's a lot of work," she grimaced.

"It's also a lot of money. From what I've heard, you still need to settle many debts," the village leader pointed out.

"You're right," she sighed. "I'll do it. I don't want to, but I'll do it." Sarutobi smiled.

"That's more like the old Tsunade I remember. I'm grateful you regained your spirit."

"Thank a certain brat for that. Whenever he wakes up."

"I intend to."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto's wounds were healing quickly. Three days after receiving his injury, he was already trying to slip from the hospital, insisting that he was fine. He was caught by the ever-watchful Tsunade who insisted he wasn't fine, which she knew better than him, because unlike him she was a trained healer, and forced him back to his bed under the threat of tying him to it. The boy grumbled, but didn't dare to disobey her.

Just as he was finally released when even the legendary medic couldn't find anything wrong with him, his team returned to Konoha from a mission. Naruto found it out when he was suddenly tackled by the Haimaru siblings in the middle of the street. Before he could get up, he was surrounded by Tenzo, Hana and Hotaru, all of them happy to see him again. He noted that his teammates seemed to get stronger during his absence. After a lengthy session of catching up, the team resumed their regular training routine.

Before they were sent for missions together again, Jiraiya approached him with a solution for his Kyuubi problem. He placed a seal around the red mark that prevented the Kyuubi's power from emerging every time it was smeared with blood. However Naruto could still use it to summon Kyuubi's chakra if he used a certain sequence of handseals before smearing it with blood. Naruto thanked the Sage wholeheartedly. Though the Toad Hermit warned him that the new seal wasn't as durable as the old one, it meant he didn't have to worry about even slight scratches anymore. He could return to active duty.

Then followed months of doing missions and engaging in battles with his team. Tenzo was sometimes with them, but mostly he was assigned to other duties. Though they faced enemies, nothing of note happened during this time.

The situation on the frontlines changed only slightly. A joined attack from Konoha's and Suna's forces pushed the Iwa army back, but they regrouped quickly and were now trying to regain lost ground. In one of the battles, Hana and Hotaru were wounded. With Tenzo away from the village, it made Naruto the only member of the team capable of active duty. He thought he would spend several weeks in Konoha honing his skill until the girls were able to rejoin him, so he was surprised when he received a message that he was to report in the Hokage Tower for a mission. He walked to the Mission Room, anxious to find out what was in store for him.

* * *

Next time: Naruto's mysterious assignement. And some canon characters will be making their first appearance in this story.


	44. Team leader

**Author's note:** Beginning of a new arc. One I had a lot of fun writing. I hope you are going to have as much fun reading it.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Naruto was in for the surprise of his life when he went to the Hokage tower that day. The girls were still on medical leave and they would be for some time to come and Tenzo got called off for frontlines duty. It made him the only member of his team currently free and he headed to the Mission Room to ask what he was supposed to be doing. He had expected guard or scouting duty or perhaps even going to the battlefield again, but not this.

"Are you sure about this, sir?"

"Yes, Naruto," the Hokage nodded. "After all, you have been chuunin for over half a year. I think it's up time."

"If you say so," the blond replied hesitantly. "I still don't think it's a good idea. They're all older than me."

"And that matters why?" the Sandaime raised an eyebrow. "You are the senior ninja here."

"I know, but… it's still awkward."

"That's one of the things you have to get used to. You got promoted young, so such situations would arise often for you. Just be glad you are doing it in Konoha."

"Yes, I know," the boy replied. "I should better be going then."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Training grounds~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto observed the three figures gathered near the logs. He didn't get to read their files and he had only very brief info on them. It was no surprise there wasn't much information about them, considering they had graduated from the Academy only recently. They were all ten and they were genin thanks to the wartime-lowered graduation age and sped-up curriculum. They were also the first unit he was supposed to command.

He took a while to observe them before he would make himself known to them.

A black-haired boy in green bodysuit was kicking relentlessly at a wooden pole. He had a lot of strength and endurance, Naruto had to give that to him. A few trees over a girl with twin buns on her head and pink shirt was hurling kunai and shuriken at practice targets. Her aim was perfect even from a great distance. Yet a bit further a boy with long black hair was going through a kata in a style Naruto wasn't too familiar with, but could recognize from the description as the Juuken, signature style of the Hyuuga clan.

He jumped down from his hiding spot. The three genin immediately stopped their training and turned to him, eying him warily. He noticed the girl held a kunai in her hand, ready to throw it should he prove to be hostile.

"Hello," he greeted. "Are you Team Gai?"

"We are," the Hyuuga boy answered.

"Good. I am Uzumaki Naruto. I will be your temporary commander while your sensei is away."

Neji radiated contempt at having to listen to somebody younger than him, despite not moving a single muscle. Naruto wondered how he achieved that. Tenten eyed him doubtfully, but said nothing. He didn't fault her for it. Despite wearing the shinobi uniform and customized flak jacked, he still failed to look like a serious ninja. Lee…

"Yosh! Your flames of youth must burn brightly to achieve chuunin so young!"

"Eh…What?" Naruto was taken aback. He was told this was going to be an easy assignment, not that he would have to deal with a weirdo. But he wouldn't back down. The Hokage had trusted him with them and he wasn't about to let him down.

"If he became chuunin so young, it was because it was fated to happen," the Hyuuga boy stated.

"Ah…" 'What did I do to piss off the Hokage so much?' Naruto wondered. 'It makes two weirdoes now.'

"I disagree, my eternal rival," the green-clad boy shouted. 'Can he even speak at normal volume?' Naruto wondered. "I will prove to you there is no such think as fate. I will prove that hard work will surpass genius!"

"Fool," the white-eyed boy sneered. "A dropout would always be a dropout. Fate wouldn't allow it to be otherwise."

"And that's where you are mistaken!"

"Just ignore them," the only girl on the team advised him. But Naruto couldn't. This squad was clearly dysfunctional and as its commander, though temporary, he felt obliged to do something about it.

"Quit it," he shouted. The two genin immediately turned to glare at him. "I don't know whether you heard about it, but we are at war. You are supposed to be a well-cooperating unit and what do you do? Fight among yourselves! You should be ashamed of yourselves. Didn't your sensei teach you about teamwork?" Their guilty faces were answer enough. "Why don't you heed his words then? There are whole armies of ninja who would eat children like you for dinner and if you don't want it to happen, you should train to become a better team, not waste time on petty squabbles among yourselves. I don't know what you think about your abilities, but let me tell you something: none of you is good enough to hold his own against an enemy. Your only chance of survival if you encounter some is through teamwork. Do you understand?"

They nodded, but Naruto wasn't so sure they really got it. His suspicion was proven correct when Neji spoke. "If we are fated to die in battle, then we will. If we are fated to survive, then we will." Naruto suppressed the urge to tear out his hair.

"Do you blame everything on fate?" the chuunin asked.

"Fate controls everything," the long-haired boy answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Everything about a person is predetermined the moment of his birth." He shot a derogatory glance toward his male teammate.

"And that's where you are wrong," Lee shouted. "Hard work can overcome anything."

"Hn." That simple sound summed up everything Neji thought about it.

"Stop it now," Naruto commanded, his eyes narrowing. "Neji. Are you a seer?"

"What?" the Hyuuga's impassive face showed a momentary hint of confusion.

"I asked whether you are a seer," the blond boy repeated. "Can you see the future?"

"No." Neji admitted.

"Than why do you claim to know a person's fate?" Naruto questioned.

"Because it's predetermined at birth."

"Now listen to yourself," the blond scoffed. "You say you can't see the future and yet you claim to know a person's fate. Aren't you contradicting yourself? How do you explain it? I heard you were a genius, but now I'm beginning to doubt it."

"Whether you are a genius or a loser is decided at birth. No-one chan change it. Trying to do so is a pointless endeavor." He shot a pointed glance towards his teammate. Lee took a breath to shout an answer, but Naruto beat him to it.

"Why do you hate your teammate so much?" he asked. "Could it be because he is trying to change himself and you feel threatened by it? Or is it perhaps that you wish to change yourself and are afraid to do so? Or have you tried before and failed and become so disheartened that you completely gave up?"

"You know nothing about me," the Branch House Hyuuga scoffed. For the first time, there was genuine anger in his tone instead of pure disdain.

"That's true," Naruto admitted, "but your reaction tells me I hit close to home, didn't I?" Neji's only answer was the deepening of his scowl. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to," the young chuunin said, "but could you please refrain from verbally attacking your teammate? That's exactly the sort of behavior that would get you all killed on the frontlines. And believe me, that's something I have experience with."

"You were on the frontlines?" There was a hint of doubt in Tenten's voice.

"I was," he confirmed. "In fact I returned only recently. The rest of my team was wounded and they are in the hospital and they are the lucky ones. I saw too many who wouldn't be recovering or wouldn't be coming back at all." His voice gained a faraway quality as the scenes from the frontlines appeared before his mind's eye. The three genin were silent. Maybe they began to understand the perils they would be facing, but this was probably only wishful thinking.

"Enough about it," the chuunin decided. "It's still early in the day, so we should be training. In the afternoon we'll head to the Tower for a D-rank. For now, what about a spar, anything goes? I'd like to see what you can do and it would be good experience for you to see another fighting style."

"You are the commander here," Neji shrugged.

"Well, then," the blond nodded. "Why don't you go first?" The Hyuuga nodded and moved into the center of the training field. Naruto stood in front of him. "Let's begin."

Neji wasted no time and activated his Byakugan. Naruto recognized it by the telltale bulging veins around his eyes. He had heard a lot about his clan's bloodlimit, but he had never fought against it. 'I mustn't let him touch me,' he decided. 'And I shouldn't blow him into pieces as well.'

Neji lowered himself into the basic stance of the Gentle Fist style. He seemed content to wait for his opponent to attack. The young chuunin decided he had to take the initiative first. With a thought he activated his own chakra-enhanced taijutsu style and let the Wind chakra encircle his forearms in preparation to utilize the Whirlwind Fist style. He usually wouldn't use it in a friendly match, but he needed some defense against the Juuken. If his tenketsu were closed, he would lose the use of his arms and that would mean losing to a fresh genin, which would be disastrous for his image as a leader. He could only hope it would be enough and that he wouldn't hurt Neji too much. He kept the chakra as blunt as possible.

Neji's eyes widened when he saw the energy now encircling his opponent's hands. He had never seen anything like it before. He wasn't sure what it was, but he was sure he didn't want to find out the hard way. He couldn't ponder over it for long. Naruto attacked. It was fast, but Neji was used to practicing with Maito Gai and Lee, so it couldn't catch him unawares. He sidestepped the attack and tried to hit Naruto in the ribs, but the blond blocked with his arm. Neji felt the push of Naruto's chakra as their forearms met. He quickly retracted his arm, but he could feel several small tears forming in his skin. Before he could analyze the situation further, the blond kicked at his feet and he was forced to jump back. Naruto pushed his attack.

Neji was prepared for him this time. He concentrated chakra to his fingertips, prepared to connect with one disabling Juuken strike. His opponent wasn't bad, but he wasn't called a genius for nothing. In the one brief exchange he found out enough about the younger boy's style to guess how he would react.

Naruto was charging at him exactly as he expected. Just a moment longer… Naruto retracted his right fist for a strike. Neji started moving to the left. Naruto changed his course to follow him. Neji dropped low just as Naruto's fist shot forward. His own hands moved in a blur, one of them heading for Naruto's elbow, the other aiming for his stomach. The blond had no way to evade or block now.

Then Neji noticed a buildup of chakra. He realized what was happening, but he couldn't stop himself from hitting the wooden post in time. He hissed in pain. He almost broke his fingers on it. He pushed the log away and turned to where his opponent appeared. Thanks to his nearly all-encompassing field of vision he didn't have to search for him. Now if he could hit him in the time it takes for the Kawarimi to completely deactivate…

He rushed forward with all his speed. It would be tricky, but he was sure he could make it. And he almost did. Only two steps were remaining to his defenseless opponent, when he noticed chakra building up around him. He wished he could go faster, but this was already his top speed. He prepared the Juuken strike.

Naruto knew he didn't have even a fraction of a second to spare. He gathered chakra to his left foot and kicked high. Neji saw it and turned a bit sideways. It wouldn't be enough to avoid the kick completely, but it would allow him to hit Naruto with Juuken before being hit himself. He could already see himself winning the match. His arms shot forward. Naruto lifted his own to block. Neji's fingers hit his forearm. The chakra circling around it protectively wasn't enough to stop him, but it distorted the chakra in Juuken enough to prevent him from closing any tenketsu. It still felt like there were a thousand needles pricking his skin.

Naruto's foot finally connected with Neji's side. The blond released the chakra he stored there in one moment and the Hyuuga prodigy was sent flying. It caught him completely off guard, but he was able to turn in the air and land without hurting himself. He took a moment to assess the damage. His side was hurting, but he couldn't se anything broken or torn. His fingers were bleeding, but the cuts didn't go any deeper than his skin.

"Good taijutsu," Naruto said, "but that is the Hyuuga's forte. Let's see how you can deal with a different kind of combat."

Neji stood to face his opponent, curious what he would try next. A ninjutsu, perhaps? He wasn't mistaken, the young chuunin started a series of handseals even before he finished speaking. Neji didn't recognize the sequence and the blond didn't say the name aloud. His first indication of the technique's nature was when chakra appeared in the air between them. Then a strong wind picked up, threatening to lift Neji off his feet and smash him into the nearest tree. He sent chakra to his feet, desperately trying to stick to the ground. He desperately wished he knew the Kaiten, but that was one of the Main House secret techniques and he wasn't allowed to learn it.

He noticed Naruto running towards him. The winds were still blowing. There was nothing he could do. Wait, there was something. The Hyuuga usually scoffed at anybody who couldn't get by using solely their family style, but Neji decided he didn't care. Before the chuunin could reach him, he performed a Kawarimi with another training post.

Naruto didn't even blink when the Hyuuga suddenly turned into a log. He evaded nimbly and turned around to see where his opponent would appear. He was exactly where he expected him to be. He performed another series of seals and unleashed the Water Shockwave attack. Neji leapt out of the way, but wasn't quick enough. The stream of water grazed his leg. It upset his balance and he fell down. Naruto was upon him in an instant. Neji was quick to react and struck with a chakra-charged palm. The blond narrowly dodged. He used a Gale Wind Palm to slam the dark-haired genin to the ground. Neji's breath left him with a huff. Naruto dropped down, batting away another Juuken strike and laid a hand on Neji's neck.

"It's over," he said. The white-eyed boy only grunted, his Byakugan deactivating. "Very good taijutsu," Naruto said, "but you have trouble with long-range fighters."

"Hn," was Neji's only response.

"I hope you got the lesson," the chuunin said. "Who wants to go next?"

"Me!" Lee jumped with excitement.

"Well, then come on," the blond smiled. Lee nodded and charged with all his youthful enthusiasm. Naruto was surprised at his speed and barely managed to block. His forearm hurt. He was surprised the young genin was able to put such a force behind his kick. He didn't have time to ponder about it. Lee pressed on his attack in a flurry of movement and it was all he could do not to get completely pummeled. It became quickly apparent that he won't be able to best the genin with purely taijutsu and tried to disengage. The green-clad boy didn't let him. He stuck to him and kept showering him with punches and kicks. Naruto was getting desperate. He couldn't lose to a mere genin here, but he also didn't want to go all out. It wouldn't look good on his record if he maimed his subordinates within the first hour of his first commanding assignment.

He forgone defense and attacked. He only braced his body for the inevitable impact of Lee's feet and fists and punched with all his might. The green-clad boy almost managed to avoid, but Naruto's strike connected with his side. It sent him falling backwards. It was a bit of a letdown for Naruto. He had hoped to send him flying.

He used the brief reprieve to jump back and run through seals. He felt embarrassed for having to restore to ninjutsu against a mere genin, but losing against said genin would be even more embarrassing. He fired off the 'Fuuton: Breakthrough.' Lee was already back on his feet and running towards him when the wind hit him and knocked him back. Once again it didn't have the desired effect. 'Why?' Naruto wondered. 'He doesn't seem so heavy. Could there be weights hidden under those leg warmers? It would explain why he kicks so hard. I need to step it up.'

He fired a Water Shockwave at his opponent, but the taijutsu specialist managed to evade, the water barely touching him. He ran at Naruto again. The chuunin decided he couldn't afford to be forced in the defensive again. Wind chakra enveloped his forearms once more.

Lee was almost upon him, but Naruto was prepared for him this time. Before the junior green beast could strike, he gave an outward push with his chakra. It wasn't enough to completely repel the attack, but it threw the genin off balance. Naruto was quick to capitalize on it. He avoided Lee's kick and slammed his fist into Lee's stomach. The taijutsu specialist grunted in pain, but that was it. He was used to worse from Gai-sensei. Naruto hit again, but this time Lee blocked and counterattacked. Naruto narrowly avoided having his nose smashed. Things got ugly for him again.

Naruto kicked with fury and forced Lee to give him a bit of a breather. He used it to switch with the last standing training post. Then he created a dozen Shadow Clones before his opponent realized he was pummeling wood.

The clones attacked in sync. Gai's prized student was good, but he was not quite that good yet. He managed to pop a good half of them before one struck him in the back of his head, knocking him to the ground. Another then placed a kunai at his neck. "I win," he declared.

"Yes," Lee admitted. "I'll make a thousand squats to make up for my defeat!"

"You don't have to," Naruto said. "You fought well. But no matter how talented you are, you are still a fresh genin while I'm a seasoned chuunin. You couldn't expect to win."

"I'll train harder and I'll defeat you in no time!" Lee made a resolution.

"That's the spirit," Naruto smiled.

"No amount of hard work would change you," Neji scoffed. "Once a failure is always a failure."

"What did I say, Neji?" Naruto scowled. "This boy here isn't your enemy, this is your comrade. Your enemies are at the borders of Iwa, Kumo and Ame, not within Konoha. You would do well to remember it."

"Hn." The Hyuuga sounded like he disagreed, but said nothing more. Naruto sighed. It sounded like nothing he said got through to the white-eyed boy. He turned to Tenten. "It's your turn," he said.

The kunoichi stood up and walked to the middle of the training field. Her multiple kunai and shuriken were jingling quietly. Naruto scowled. This wasn't good. She wouldn't be able to stay concealed.

The bun-haired girl didn't give him time to muse about it for any longer. She picked four shuriken with each hand and threw them all with deadly accuracy. Naruto was unconcerned. He simply created a Wind Shield and batted them away. Tenten narrowed her eyes and threw another batch. Naruto blocked it again. Then she threw third. It met the same end as the first two.

"Is that all you can do?" Naruto asked slightly disappointed.

"No," Tenten answered and pulled the strings attached to her weapons. They came to life and headed towards Naruto. Before they could hit, the blond switched with a log.

"Better, but slow," he commented. She turned to him and launched another volley of weapons. He avoided it with a Kawarimi again. "Are you really a one-trick pony?"

Tenten scowled. She knew she wasn't as good as her male teammates, but she wasn't useless, damn it. And here this little boy swatted her kunai away like they were nothing more than flies. She took a scroll from her pouch and smeared blood on the seal. A naginata appeared in her hands. It was an heirloom from her mother and she never was much good using it, she even considered not carrying it, but now she was glad she still had it. She'd like to see the boy block this.

"Now that's more like it," Naruto smiled unsheathing his ninjato. 'Crap,' thought Tenten. 'If he is any good with it, he'll get me.' But she didn't back off and charged. She still had the advantage of longer reach. She let out a battle cry and attacked. Naruto parried without trouble. Unlike her teammates, she wasn't a taijutsu prodigy.

Naruto let her go at it for several minutes before getting bored with it. He then quickly stepped inside her guard and kicked at her stomach. To her credit she managed to avoid hit, but another strike aimed at her forearms made her drop the naginata. The fight took a swift end after that. She tried to take out some kunai to defend, but Naruto was faster. The blade of his sword was at her neck in a millisecond. She stood still.

"I'm pathetic, aren't I?" she asked downtrodden.

"No," he consoled her, even if he himself wasn't overly impressed with her performance. But she was just a rookie genin, she couldn't be expected to be too good. Only her gifted teammates made her look useless. "You have exceptional aim, but that isn't everything. As you saw, every projectile can be blocked. You need something you could fall back to."

"I know," she nodded ashamed.

"Don't be so down," he tried to cheer her up. "I might be no jounin, but I can help you become better in whatever time we're stuck together."

"Thank you," she smiled.

"Well, now it's almost noon. We'll get some lunch and then head to the mission center."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Evening~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Their mission turned out to be babysitting. The moment Naruto heard it he knew things were going to get nasty. It happened every time he got stuck babysitting. Today was no exception. Neji spent the afternoon lecturing the children about fate, Lee tried to fan their Flames of Youth before Neji could douse them with his unyouthfulness and Tenten valiantly prevented them from killing each other. He spent several hours convincing the little hellions that his flak jacked was the real thing and not bought at a costumes store. When he realized it was Tenten who planted the idea in them, he almost tried to throttle her. The parents couldn't come home too soon. He was all too glad when he could leave the kids in their care and report a completed mission. He was sure this day left them all mentally scarred and their charges weren't the worst off.

"That was terrible," Tenten said. Nobody disputed her. "The Academy teachers said that D-ranks would help us develop our skills as ninja, but frankly I don't see what good did this do besides trying our patience."

"This is preparation for bodyguard missions," Naruto explained.

"I can't imagine a client would try to run away from us," the kunoichi doubted.

"You would be surprised," the chuunin replied. "Should I tell you about the time we guarded Lady Mao? Believe me, those kiddies have nothing on her."

Tenten shuddered. "I don't think I want to hear about it then."

"Wise decision," The blond nodded. "I don't want to even think about it."

"We mustn't let our Flames of Youth to dwindle because of such unyouthful clients!" Lee struck a nice-guy pose. Tenten rolled her eyes. Neji didn't give any outward sign of what he was feeling.

"Still, isn't there a better way of preparing us?" Tenten asked.

"Well," Naruto started, "my sensei always gives our team those mock-missions."

"Mock missions?" The girl was interested.

"Yes. He gathers a few friends, makes a few clones and lets one play our client and the other assassins, or one is our mark and the others are his guards or just about anything you can get assigned on a mission and he can organize."

"That sounds interesting," she said.

"It is," the chuunin agreed. "The experience is priceless. In fact, I think I can organize such an exercise for you. I don't know whether I can make it tomorrow so maybe the day after."

"What would it be like?"

"I'm not telling," Naruto smiled mysteriously. "You have to wait and see."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Streets of Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenten turned her head sharply. What was it that caught her attention? Was there really someone in the window or was it just the curtain flapping in the wind? She wasn't sure, but she couldn't take the chance. She shifted the bag she was holding to her left hand and reached into her pouch.

"Watch it!" their 'client' screeched. "You nearly dropped my new dress!" The 'client' looked like an overweight middle-aged woman with too much makeup and money and was actually one of Naruto's clones. The young kunoichi strongly suspected that she was modeled after Lady Mao. She was the fourth 'client' they were guarding today. The three previous were already popped by Naruto.

"I'm sorry, madam," the girl apologized. "I thought I saw something."

"Don't think and carry my things," the clone barked. It was an entirely unpleasant individual. The worst they had to guard so far. In fact, every 'client' was worse than the previous one. Tenten suspected their temporary sensei was doing it on purpose.

"I see nothing suspicious," Neji informed after checking their surroundings with his Byakugan. He deactivated it quickly. It was still hard to use it without handseals and it ate deep into his chakra. But his hands were full of the 'client's' bags.

"We won't fail this time," Lee exclaimed noticeably less lively than usual. He seemed to mind being a pack mule the least, but even his Flames of Youth were subdued.

"I don't pay you for yapping, brats," the 'client' snapped. "So shut up and follow me." Without waiting for their response, she turned and marched through the crowded street, the three genin scrambling after her. They barely managed to squeeze through the crowd to surround her again. The strange thing was that the clone had no trouble pushing through the crowds. Tenten wished to know how did she do it, but didn't dare to ask.

There was a sudden flash of movement. The young kunoichi noticed a black-clad ninja moving swiftly through the crowd. In a ninja village it wasn't an unusual sight, but this one was headed straight for them. And he looked like he meant business. The girl dropped the bags and took out a kunai.

"What are you doing, you klutz?" the 'client' shrieked. Tenten didn't answer. She positioned herself between the strange ninja and the obnoxious woman. She managed just in time to block his kunai swipe, but a kick to her midsection sent her flying. Even before she landed, she heard the telltale sound of a shadow clone dispersing. She sighed. They failed the mission again.

She scrambled to her feet and watched as her surprised teammates turned around, bags still in their arms, and stared at the newcomer who dropped his henge, revealing himself to be Naruto.

"Well," the young chuunin sighed, "this was your most pathetic performance ever."

"We lasted over twenty minutes longer than the last time," Neji pointed out.

"Yes," Naruto agreed. "You lasted almost a whole hour. And during the time you let her bully you into carrying her bags, rendering yourselves ineffective. Tell me again, what your mission was."

"To protect the client," the Hyuuga answered.

"Yes," the blond nodded gravely. "To protect the client. Not to carry her stuff. It took you only a quarter an hour to completely forget about it. Or did you think the bags won't hinder you? Do you know some secret style of Juuken that doesn't require the use of hands, Neji? Can Tenten throw her kunai with her feet? Can Lee fight with kicks only?"

"It would be unyouthful not to help a lady," the green-clad genin said completely lacking his usual enthusiasm.

"And failing a mission is youthful?" the chuunin asked. Lee shook his head. "Then remember it," Naruto suggested. He ran his fingers through a sequence of seals and created their new 'client.' This one was a big hulk of man, sweaty, unwashed, stinky, ugly, fat and quite obviously drunk. "This is who you are protecting next."

"He looks even worse than the last one," Tenten remarked.

"Yes," Naruto nodded. "And the next one is going to be even worse. Take it as a motivation not to lose this one too quickly." The blond disappeared in the crowd. The new 'client' turned to Tenten and leered lecherously.

"Aren't you a pretty little thing." Tenten groaned inwardly. This was going to be a long day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mission room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What?" Naruto couldn't believe his ears. "We can't take this mission."

"You're currently the only team available," the chuunin behind the desk said. Naruto remembered him vaguely. Wasn't he the one who had conducted his genin test? He hadn't been a nice fellow back then, but it didn't matter anymore. Now he was just another Leaf shinobi doing his duty.

"We aren't suited for such duty. We aren't supposed to take anything above a D-rank." Though the team made significant progress in the week they spent in his care, they were still nowhere near ready for a real mission. Especially during wartime.

"Look, I know, but we are really understaffed right now, with that last battle and all," the silver-haired chuunin replied. "Most of our best are out on the frontlines and the others are needed to man our defenses."

"I understand," Naruto sighed. He had been on the frontlines himself not so long ago. His team had been lucky, they would all be fit for duty given enough time, but he saw too many that won't be coming home ever again. "But I still think you should find someone else. My teammates have never been on a C-rank before. They should be under the supervision of a jounin."

"And we shouldn't be at war," the chuunin added. Naruto recoiled as if struck. "This is an easy mission anyway, only an escort of a merchant to visit his relative, who had fallen sick suddenly. You'll be going the opposite direction than the enemy is and you won't be leaving the central region of Fire Country, so there shouldn't be even bandits. It will be a walk in the park for you."

Naruto looked questioningly at the three genin. Neji was silent and unreadable, Tenten seemed uncertain. Lee assumed his nice-guy pose.

"Yosh! Let our Flames of Youth burn brightly! We can handle the mission and if we can't, I'll make a thousand push-ups!" The chuunin behind the desk smiled.

"You have nothing to worry about," he assured them. "I introduce you to the client now."

A completely bland and unremarkable man entered the room. He was middle-aged, middle height, had medium-brown hair streaked with grey at the temples and thinning above his forehead, and was dressed in sensible brown traveling clothes.

"This is Gikata Michi. You'll be escorting him on his way to Nagai."

The man glared at them. "What's the meaning of this? Are you telling me that all the guards I get for my money are some kids? Did they even finish the Academy?"

"Yes, we did," Naruto answered evenly. It strained his self-control dangerously. But if he had survived dealing with Lady Mao, he would survive this old geezer as well.

"Don't underestimate our Flames of Youth!" Lee exclaimed proudly.

"I should ask for a refund," Michi muttered.

"I know they don't look like much," the chuunin behind the counter interrupted, "but they are good enough."

"And I aren't getting better ones unless I pay more," the merchant sighed. The silver-haired chuunin confirmed. "Well, then, brats, let's go. Meet me at the south gate in half an hour and we'll be going." He turned and left.

"You heard him," Naruto said. "Gather your gear, we have a mission." They took off to prepare.

Mizuki smiled. There they were, a talentless orphan who had graduated dead-last, some maid's daughter playing to be a kunoichi, not bad but without any special ability and a Branch House Hyuuga who pissed off the Main House by being better than them. They were perfect. Nobody was going to miss them too much.

* * *

The end for today.

Next time: What did Mizuki send the team into? And what trouble can Naruto's temporary underlings cause on their own? What is going to be worse?


	45. A crazy mission

**Author's note:** Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. The last couple of chapters I was worried I scared you away, but the last chapter shows you are back. Thanks. And because you were so nice, you'll get a serving of fun and Flames of Youth as a reward. And as an extra reward, I post an illustration on my DA profile.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer:** **I don't own Naruto.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Village gates~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Here you are," Gikata Michi said impatiently, even though they had five minutes to spare. Naruto bit back a comment, but not all of his teammates showed the same restraint.

"We're five minutes early! Lying is so unyouthful!" Michi glared at him in a very unyouthful way. Naruto sighed. This was going to be a long mission. He was only grateful that Nagai was only two days travel from Konoha. He didn't think he could bear this for longer.

"Let's go," the blond said. "Team, keep diamond formation around our client. I'll be at the point, Neji will be at the back. Tenten and Lee take the flanks. Neji, you will use your Byakugan to check for possible hostiles, but don't exhaust yourself." The Hyuuga nodded.

They showed their mission scroll to the chuunin at guard gate. He looked at them suspiciously, but waved them through. The first C-rank mission of Team Gai had started.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The inn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first part of the journey was uneventful. They had walked through the forests surrounding Konoha and the only people they encountered were Leaf shinobi maintaining the security around the village. They detected their presence only thanks to Naruto's keen nose and Neji's Byakugan. Then the forest had thinned and meadows and fields replaced it. The occasional houses appeared, hidden in the shade of fruit trees. Late in the afternoon they reached a trading village, named Ogawa, and although the four ninja wanted to continue, their client insisted he was tired and decided they would spend the night here.

They booked into the Dancing Crane Inn, the biggest one in the settlement. Michi wanted to book them two rooms, but there was a caravan staying in the village and nearly all rooms were taken. They had to settle all into one, much to the merchant's dismay.

"Just don't bother me during the night," he grumbled as they were settling into the room.

"Please don't be so disappointed," Naruto replied. "We are professionals, we know how to behave." 'I hope,' he added mentally. With Team Gai, anything was possible. "Besides, one of us would have to stay with you all the time anyway. Such establishments aren't always safe. You never know who might sneak into your room and rob you blind or even slice your throat in your sleep."

Their client winced. "You're right," he admitted. "Sorry I doubted your abilities. May I buy you dinner to make it up?"

Naruto wasn't one to ever refuse free food. "We're honored," he answered, "but you really don't have to bother. We're only doing our job." Lee and Tenten perked up and even Neji's white eyes lightened up for a bit, despite his best efforts to keep a stoic face. Even if they didn't want to admit it, they were all hungry after a whole day's journey.

"Don't worry about it," Gikata smiled. "I insist."

"Well, if you insist…" Naruto shrugged.

"Then let's go."

They settled at a table in the locale. Michi waved at the waitress and ask her for the menus. He also ordered a jug of sake. The team thought it was for him only, but the girl came back with five cups.

"We're too young to drink," Tenten pointed out.

"And we are supposed to stay alert," Neji added.

"As their commander, I must have their best performance as my priority."

"Don't be so shy," the merchant prodded pouring each one a cup. "It's only a little bit. It's my treat. Besides, it's impolite to refuse when someone invites you to a drink."

"Being impolite is unyouthful," Lee proclaimed and downed his cup in one healthy swig. What happened then would haunt everybody present in their nightmares for a very long time to come.

Lee swayed in his seat a bit, then stood up abruptly, throwing the table at Neji, who was sitting across him. The Hyuuga barely avoided a serious injury, but he ended up soaked thoroughly in the sake from the jug.

"I'm the besht!" Lee shouted. "Watsh it, I'm the besht! I'll make Gai-shenshei proud!"

"Is he already drunk?" Tenten wondered.

"Obviously," Michi answered.

"Why did you have to pour him the sake?" Naruto complained. Neji was busy trying to squeeze his shirt dry. They had no time to wonder about Lee's condition. The bowl cut boy fixed his sight on the Hyuuga prodigy.

"Watsh it Nedshi, tshish time I'll gonna defeat you!" The white-eyed boy only scoffed, obviously about to say something about fate. Before he could open his mouth, he was sailing through the air into the opposite wall. Lee stood on the same spot he had occupied just a moment before. "I shaid I defeat ya!" he shouted victoriously.

Naruto blinked. He didn't even see the green-clad boy move. How did he get so good so suddenly? This was far above anything he had shown during the last week.

Neji slowly picked himself up from the ground. He fixed his teammate with a murderous glare. Lee somehow noticed it even in his inebriated state.

"You shtill didn't have enough? I'll deshtroy yah!" He started to fulfill his words, but this time Naruto was prepared. He jumped to tackle the drunken genin before he finished speaking. Even that way he barely made it. Lee moved in such an impossible way, that he avoided the blond's attack and punched him in the face.

'Dam, that hurt,' thought the chuunin. 'I'm going to have a blue eye. How did he get so strong?'

"You unyouthful vermin!" Lee shouted. "How dare you int-iner-ter-inter-hic-ferter-in- hic… How dare shpoil my fight? 'M gonna d'shtr-hic-oy you!" He showered the jinchuuriki with a literal hail of punches. Naruto tried to block them, but found that he couldn't. Every time he thought he had guessed the trajectory of one of Lee's fists, they suddenly changed course and impacted with his body before he could blink. If he tried to counterattack, his hits were always blocked or avoided, every single time in manners defying the laws of nature. It was extremely frustrating.

'I can't let this continue,' Naruto thought. It was only thanks to his unnatural resilience that he was still in fighting shape. 'But I can't use any too harmful jutsu on him as well. Crap, what do I do?' In that moment, Neji rejoined the fray. He tried to use juuken to close Lee's tenketsu, but he had as little success as Naruto. The thick-browed boy evaded everything. But something good was accomplished with his brave charge. Lee turned his attention to him.

"I'll d'feat yaouh, my et-hic-shernal rival!" the inebriated genin shouted. He turned his back on Naruto. The blond spotted his chance. He jumped at Lee's back and held tight. The spandex-wearing taijutsu prodigy tried to shake him off, but he refused to let go no matter how many tables and walls he smashed him against.

"Quick, Neji," the chuunin shouted. "Close his tenketsu! I can't hold him for much longer." The Hyuuga nodded in acknowledgement and activated his Byakugan. It took much struggle yet, but they managed to subdue the Green Beast Jr.

"Is he out of it?" Tenten asked anxiously. She stood on the sidelines, prepared to offer her support if they needed it, but she was reluctant to throw her weapons at her comrades. She at least made sure nothing happened to their client in the fray.

"What was that?" Michi asked wide-eyed.

"I don't know," Naruto answered, "but I don't want to see it ever again. Tenten, tie him up until he's sober."

"Hey, you!" Everybody turned to the source of the voice. The innkeeper stood there, looking furious. He waved his arm around, pointing at the scene of total destruction that used to be the Dancing Crane Inn just a half-hour before. "Who is going to pay for all that?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On the road~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Needless to say, they weren't welcome in the Dancing Crane Inn anymore. They weren't welcome in whole Ogawa as well. It was all they could do to settle the matters with the innkeeper. It was made worse by the fact that they couldn't agree whose fault the damage was, whether Michi's for pouring Lee a drink or the ninjas' for actually inflicting it. In the end it fell to the shinobi, but they didn't have enough money on them. Naruto, as the leader, had to sign a bill.

"I'll be paying that for ages," he grumbled.

"I think you'll be finished before you make jounin," Tenten offered.

"I hope."

Michi wanted to settle into a different hotel, but after the third one slammed the door in their faces, even he had to reluctantly agree it was hopeless.

"There's still over two hours of daylight left," the chuunin said. "We can travel a fair distance before we'll have to settle down."

"It's easy for you to say," the merchant scowled. "I'm not as young as I used to be."

"You're not old either. Besides, you aren't the one carrying him." He pointed to the unconscious form of Lee on his back. "And weren't you in a hurry to visit your sick relative?"

"You're right, kid," Gikata agreed. "Let's go."

Nearly an hour later Lee began to stir. "Oh my head," he groaned. He tried to grab it in his hands but found out he couldn't. "Why am I bound?"

"Can't you remember?" Naruto inquired.

"No." Lee shook his head, which served to worsen his hangover.

"Are you sober now?" the chuunin inquired.

"Yes," the spandex-clad genin nodded, making waves of pain surge through his head. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I'll untie you now."

"Thanks."

"Is it safe?" Michi asked fearfully.

"Yes," Naruto answered with conviction. "And Lee," he turned to the green-clad genin, "always remember this: It's most unyouthful to drink."

"Of course it's most unyouthful to drink," the genin answered. "Why would I ever want to do that?"

"Never mind. Can you walk?"

"Yosh! I can walk. And if I can't walk, then I'll walk on my hands!"

"Glad to see you're back to normal," Tenten smirked.

"Let's go," Naruto said. "It's not evening yet."

The sun was almost setting down when they reached a crossroads. There was a pole with arrows pointing in two directions. On the right was written

_Nagai, Silver Pines Lake_

On the left stood

_Heavenly Peace Bridge, Sagae Town_

"Well make camp here," Naruto decided. "It's evening already and this spot is good." Nobody disagreed. The three genin went to work on building the camp.

"Crap," Tenten said after a while, "these bees are driving me crazy. Why are they even flying so late?"

"Does it matter?" Neji shrugged.

"I guess not," the kunoichi admitted. "They'll make good practice targets," she finished pulling out a handful of senbon.

"Don't do it," Naruto warned. "If you kill one, others will come and sting you."

"They won't be flying during the night anyway," the bun-haired girl pointed out and let her weapons fly. "Only two out of three?" she grimaced. "Not good enough. Well, let's try again. Ah, where did it go? Never mind." She pocketed her remaining senbon and went to gather those she flung. One of them fell close to Naruto's feet and he reached down to hand it to her. But as soon as he gripped it, he paused. It was indeed a strange bee Tenten had hit. For once it was too big. And its shape was also wrong. It resembled a hornet more than a regular bee. Most people would write it off as a strange subspecies typical for faraway lands, but Naruto wasn't most people. He believed that if there was something strange, he should figure it out. And he couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen such bees before and that it wasn't on a pleasant occasion and that the occasion wasn't unpleasant only because he got a stinger. But where was it? And then he remembered. His eyes widened.

"Crap," he cursed. "That's a Kamizuru clan bee!"

"What?" "What does it mean?" his companions exclaimed in confusion.

"That there are Iwa ninja close by," the chuunin explained.

"Here?" Michi looked frightened. "But we're on the other side of the Fire Country! Can't it be a mistake? Insects look all the same to me."

"No," the blond answered with conviction. "Those are the Kamizuru clan battle bees. I've encountered them before. We must pack the camp immediately and leave!"

"But we just settled down," their client stammered.

"Do you want to get butchered?" the Uzumaki snapped. "No? I thought so. So you'll do as I say."

"Hey! I'm the one paying you!" Gikata protested.

"And we're the ones protecting you," Naruto retorted. "So please let us do our job or ask for your money back once you get back to Konoha. So what would it be?"

Before Michi could answer, Neji interrupted.

"Somebody's coming." His Byakugan was active and he was staring back the way they had come from.

"Who and how many?" the chuunin asked in a business-like manner.

"Only one," Neji reported. "It's a woman. Judging by the way she's traveling she's a high-ranked ninja."

"So we can't outrun her?" the chuunin inquired.

"No," the Hyuuga shook his head. There was a slight tremor in his voice suggesting that he wasn't as calm as he tried to appear.

"How long before she reaches us?" Naruto inquired.

"Three minutes at her current speed."

"Make traps around the perimeter. We'll give her a proper welcome. When she comes, I'll handle the fighting. You three protect the client and hide. Somehow I doubt she's after him." The three genin looked at their temporary commander in puzzlement, but they obeyed. Soon there were strings of ninja wire and Exploding Tags all around the camp.

"She's almost here," Neji announced.

"Everybody into position," Naruto ordered. "Neji, tell me when and where she reaches the outer perimeter. And watch out for the bees. Don't let them sting you."

For a minute, they waited in silence.

"Now," the Hyuuga announced pointing to where he could see the woman. Naruto waited for three more seconds before he brought his hands up in a seal.

"Boom," he whispered. In the distance a handful of Blast Notes went off.

"She's still on her feet," Neji announced.

"What is she doing?" the chuunin wanted to know.

"Standing there. Wait – now she released her bees."

"Hn." He created two dozens of Shadow Clones and sent them to make a perimeter around them. "I won't allow them near." He waited until the bees flew closer. Then all his clones performed the Wind: Great Breakthrough. It caused quite a storm. The bees were blown away. Some trees near the crossroads were uprooted.

"She's sending out more," Neji announced. "Wait!" He shouted. He turned on his heel in an instant and grabbed Michi's arm. In his hand was a dangerously looking dagger with some suspicious greenish substance covering its blade. "What are you doing?"

Michi looked scared for a moment, but then recovered his bearings. "What are You doing?" he hissed. "I just want to be able to defend myself."

"It looked more like you were trying to stab me in the back," the Hyuuga prodigy answered.

"And you can see in the back?" the man asked increduously.

"Of course I can," the white-eyed boy confirmed. "I'm a Hyuuga."

Michi's face twisted in an ugly sneer. He threw the dagger at Neji. Tenten deflected it with her thrown kunai. Both weapons clattered on the ground harmlessly.

"Thanks," Neji said. Then he downed their traitorous client with a couple of Juuken strikes.

"So he was an agent," Naruto stated. His clones sent another wave of wind against the approaching bees. "Those are sure bothersome. Hang on in here, I'll deal with the woman."

He commanded his replicas to hold their positions and ran at the Kamizuru clan member. She responded with concentrating her bees on him. They encircled him and fired their stingers on him. He blocked them with a Wind shield. The kunoichi responded with summoning more insects. They proved to be just as vulnerable as the previous two swarms. That was when she decided to go serious.

"Kuchiose!" Only Naruto's sensitive hearing allowed him to pick up the name of the jutsu. Unfortunately he didn't hear what she was summoning. He saw it soon enough. A giant bee/hornet appeared above the trees.

'Time to get serious as well,' the Konoha chuunin thought. He created a Kage Bunshin to stand beside him. Then he fired his patented Firestorm on the giant insect. He expected the summon to dispel, but this one proved to be tougher. The hairs on its chest were charred, but that was the extent of the damage. The blond frowned. 'Not enough?' He called forth four more clones and tried again. The humongous insect tried to evade, but the flames were bigger and hotter than it expected. Its wings caught on fire and it fell onto the trees. But it still didn't dispel. 'Tough one, aren't we?' the jinchuuriki thought. But he wasn't worried. The bee couldn't move anymore. He sent his clones to deal with it. Even with what little movement it could perform, it managed to destroy a fair share of them, but in the end it was cut to pieces by Wind Blades. Even then it didn't disappear, instead remaining lying on the ground, obviously dead.

'Such faithful summons? That's unusual,' the boy thought. 'And what's more important, where's its summoner?' Try as he might, he couldn't detect the kunoichi anywhere. He ran back to the crossroads.

"Can you see her, Neji?" he asked.

"She left the range of my Byakugan a minute ago," the Hyuuga answered.

"Where did she go?"

"She headed in the direction of Ogawa."

"So she was a scout." Naruto grimaced. "That means there would be more coming and soon. Gather your most important things. We're leaving now."

"Where are we going?" Tenten asked.

"Everywhere."

"What?" The three genin looked at him like he just grown a second head. Naruto motioned to his clones. A quarter of them transformed into perfect replicas of Tenten, another quarter into Lee and yet another into Neji. They then formed teams of four and ran into all directions.

"That should confuse them for a while," the blond smiled. "And now we should be going as well." He headed to the road leading to Sagae, the River Harbor Town.

"Why there?" the Hyuuga inquired.

"Because of the bridge." He didn't offer any further explanation.

They ran at top speed. Lee had some trouble due to the remnants of his hangover, but he refused to slow down, because that would be unyouthful. Not to mention suicidal, but that didn't seem to bother the bowl-cut boy so much.

"How far are we from the bridge?" Neji asked shortly after the sun completely disappeared under the horizon.

"I'm not sure," Naruto answered, "but it shouldn't be far now. He tried to remember every bit from his geography lessons with Tenzo now. He felt eternally grateful for them now. "I think around three miles. Why do you ask?"

"Because I think I noticed somebody following us with my Byakugan."

"That's bad," the chuunin frowned. He hoped they'd have more time before the enemy would catch up with them. "Can you tell me more?"

"I'm sorry," the genin apologized. "They're still too far to recognize any details."

"They?" Naruto questioned.

"There seem to be more then one person."

'How in hell did they find us?' the blond wondered. 'They must have some excellent trackers to recognize the real trail among the false ones. Or did the bastard Michi put a tracking seal on us? He had the opportunity, that much is sure. Well, no use musing about it now. We have to cross the bridge first.' He created a Shadow Clone and had it dispel immediately.

"Run the fastest you can," he ordered his team. They obeyed, but they were fresh genin and their maximum speed wasn't anything impressive.

"They're gaining on us," Neji announced after a while. "I can see them clearly now."

"What do you see?" Naruto inquired.

"There are four of them," the Hyuuga reported. "Two men and two women. One of the women is the one we fought before, the other is very young. One of the men has a strange chakra, similar to yours."

"Oh no," the jinchuuriki groaned. "He sounds like an old acquaintance. Just what we needed."

"What's so bad about him?" Tenten inquired.

"He's a demon vessel," Naruto explained. "He has power you cannot even imagine. If he is the one I think, he can use lava for his jutsu. You three, don't even try to fight him. Let me deal with him. He's here after me."

"How do you know?" the girl questioned.

"Because I'm one as well," the chuunin replied. "And I pissed off the Tsuchikage."

"Oh." There wasn't anything else to say.

"So if things get bad, just run," Naruto repeated. "They might let you go."

"And if not?" Lee questioned.

"Then we'll give you a drink," Tenten deadpanned.

"Why?" the green-clad boy scrunched his face in confusion. "Drinking is unyouthful." Nobody bothered to enlighten him.

They ran through the mildly wavy forested countryside. The darkness was falling fast, but the sky was still illuminated by the remnants of the daylight. The little rolling hills sometimes obscured Neji's vision of their pursuers, but every time they appeared again, they were closer. Two teams of Naruto's clones appeared at different times and attacked the pursuing party. They slowed them barely for a minute, both of them destroyed by well-aimed jutsu.

"Can you tell what it was?" the original Naruto asked Neji.

"I'm not sure," the Hyuuga answered. "I've never seem anything like it before. It was hot, but it wasn't fire."

"Lava," the chuunin said. "So it really is an old acquaintance. If we cant' reach the bridge in time, we're screwed."

"Fate seems to be merciful to us now," the obsessed boy replied. "I can already see it."

"How far?" Tenten asked. Everybody perked up.

"A little over a mile."

"We can make it," the blond whispered.

It came as a pleasant surprise when they actually did. A wide and deep canyon opened in front of them, a river surging through rapids below, a thin rope construction swinging in the wind too high above its surface.

"Get on the other side!" Naruto commanded. "Now!"

"What about you?" Lee shouted.

"I'll catch up in a moment!"

The three genin pushed whatever chakra they still had to their legs. The bridge felt unsteady under their feet, but they managed to hold on. Naruto created a swarm of Shadow Clones. He used the cloud of smoke they made to cover his movements and quickly planted what little Explosive notes he still had under the bridge. Than he ran across it, letting his doppelgangers to fend for themselves.

Their pursuers were almost at striking distance now. Soon first long-range jutsu could be shot and hit their marks. Naruto's clones now recognized that there were not one, but three old acquaintances there. Beside Roushi there was Kurotsuchi, now dressed in black instead of red, and her sensei, whose name Naruto didn't quite catch. He cursed. Those weren't likely to give up.

One half of the clones ran forward and attacked with the Firestorm combo. He got proficient enough with it that barely any of his clones popped anymore. There were mostly rocks near the edge of the canyon, so they didn't have to worry about causing a forest fire.

A wall of lava rose from the ground, forming a half dome, blocking the flames from reaching their targets. The people behind it had to be still uncomfortably hot, but they wouldn't be harmed.

The clones cut the jutsu when they realized it had no effect. Before he could come up with an alternate plan, the lava surged forward, threatening to bury them alive. The clones scattered, but some of them were still destroyed by the blazing river.

The lava flowed forward and for a moment the Naruto clones were scared that it would reach and destroy the bridge before the three genin and his real body could reach the other side. But then the river split in to two, both streams falling over the edge of the canyon down to the river below. Steam rose where the molten rock met the water.

'Do they want to get us alive or do they want to get us personally?' Naruto mused. 'Probably the second.'

"What are you doing?" shouted a high-pitched female voice. Naruto thought he recognized it as Kurotsuchi's. "You almost destroyed the bridge!" Only a grunt answered her.

Naruto's clones launched another attack, this time pure Wind. It had the same result as the first charge. It was stopped by an unyielding wall of lava. This time spikes shot out of the wall, impaling some of the clones standing close. The others abandoned their charge and backed off. It turned out they didn't get far enough. The ground under their feet grew hot, melting into lava. It happened so fast that most of the clones didn't have enough time to jump into safety. They popped immediately.

"Don't melt off the whole cliff," somebody shouted.

"I know what I'm doing," Roushi snapped back. "It's only the surface."

The few remaining clones regrouped for one last attack, when a small ball fell among them. It exploded immediately and the clones were dispelled.

'Not good,' Naruto thought. The whole skirmish was over so fast that he was only halfway across the bridge. Thankfully the three genin nearly reached the end. If the bridge was cut now, they would survive. 'That is if they can use their chakra to stick to it. Otherwise they'll be in trouble.' And he was unsure whether such young genin could treewalk.

"Kurotsuchi stop!" a male voice shouted so loud that he could hear it all the way. He thought he heard the hissing of the tags activating, but that was impossible over the distance. Not to mention there were only remotely activated tags, so nothing should happen. Then he heard a blast and the bridge started slowly falling. Crap. Did he accidentally mix a proximity-activated one among them? Tenzo always berated him that such mistakes could prove fatal and in his current situation, they most likely would.

He glanced into the depth below him and immediately wished he didn't. Even in the darkness he could se the raging rapids too far below him. The foam splashing over the boulders looked ominous to him. Even with his unnatural healing abilities, he had no desire to find out whether he could survive this fall and what shape he would land in. But what could he do? It wasn't like he could fly. 'If I get out of this alive, I'm going to learn how to do it,' he decided. But first he had to get out of this alive.

The only question was how. He didn't have solid ground under his feet to use a Shunshin and the other side of the canyon was too far for a Kawarimi, even if there were handy rocks to exchange himself with. They were almost mocking him. Then he noticed something else. There was a kunai embedded in the rope bridge about halfway to the other side. It must have fallen out of one of the genin's pouches, probably Tenten's. It was still a stretch, but it was a performable feat. He wasted no time and switched himself with it. There was always a bit of time delay when performing the Kawarimi and he found himself considerably lower than before. But thanks to the bridge's swinging, it also brought him closer to the other side of the valley. A quick glance to the cliffside showed him a handy boulder for another Kawarimi. He performed it immediately.

He landed hard, but he was thankfully in one piece and conscious. His feet slid over the edge, but he used chakra to stick to the rock. It was instinct now. Tenzo knew well what to teach his students. He took a deep breath and started climbing upwards. He prayed that his genin were alright.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near the end of the bridge~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ow," Tenten groaned. She had grabbed on the rope railing the moment the bridge gave under her feet and held on tight. She somehow managed to keep her grip even during their impact with the cliffside. It was just as bad as when Gai-sensei once forgot himself during a team spar and kicked her with too much force.

Something struck the side of her head, but it was nothing compared to what she just went through. Then something pressed on the top of her head. She managed to steal a glance upwards. She saw a blue sandal and orange leg warmer.

"Lee!" she shouted. "That's my head you standing on!"

"Sorry, Tenten." The green-clad boy apologized. "How unyouthful of me. I'll do a thousand kicks to make up for my mistake!"

"Whatever," she grumbled. "Just climb."

"Oh, sorry!" Lee disappeared over the edge. Now where was Neji? If she remembered correctly, he was right behind her when the bridge fell. That would mean he was under her and also that the impact was worse for him. She looked down, afraid of what would she see there. Would she see his horribly mangled body? Or won't he be there at all?

He was there and he seemed in one piece. She even couldn't see any blood, though in the near-darkness in would have been difficult anyway.

"Neji!" she called him.

"Tenten?" he answered.

"So you're alive," she rejoiced.

"It wasn't my fate to die here," he stated.

"Whatever you say," she shrugged. "Are you wounded?"

"No. I cushioned my fall with chakra. And we should really climb up now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The other side of the canyon~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What did you think you were doing?!" Takeshi-sensei berated his student.

Kurotsuchi's black attire, which she started wearing after the death of her brother, was charred and smoking, but the girl herself was unharmed. She had pulled a quick Kawarimi when she had heard the Explosive Tag ignite.

"I just…" she started, but the jounin interrupted.

"Didn't think, that's it. And now that you destroyed the bridge, how do you suppose we get on the other side?"

The young chuunin remained silent.

"Don't worry," a female voice interjected. "Now you'll see why our clan used to be one of the greatest in Iwa." With those words, Kamizuru Suzumebachi stepped away from her companions. She smeared a bit of blood on her hands and ran them through a series of seals.

"Kuchiose: The Queen Bee."

* * *

And here I leave you with a Kuchiose: Evil Cliffhanger no Jutsu.

Next time: How will the team survive? And will somebody in Konoha notice their absence? And Flames of Youth!


	46. On the run

**Author's note:** Thanks everybody for the great review response for the last chapter. As a reward, I started working on an illustration for this chapter, but I haven't finished it yet. I hope I'll be able to post it before the next chapter.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.I don't even own a bridge to sell you if you believe it. Naruto blew it up. And the one in Wave wasn't built yet.**

* * *

Naruto and his team met above the destroyed bridge.

"Naruto-taichou!" Lee shouted. "We were so worried about you!"

"Well, you don't have to be worried anymore," the chuunin answered with a smile. He was trying to cover up how shaken he was. It just wouldn't do if he panicked in front of his young and inexperienced subordinates. Well, technically speaking, they were all older than him, but they were green in the field while he had a year of shinobi service under his belt and it wasn't simple guard duty.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes!" "Yes." "Yes, we are."

"I'm glad to hear that," Naruto sighed in relief. "Now we should be going. Those Iwa ninja aren't going to sit there idly and twiddle their thumbs."

Almost before he finished speaking, his keen senses noticed a disturbance on the other side of the canyon. He spun on his heels. A chakra cloud was slowly dissipating there, revealing the biggest bee/hornet (or whatever it was) he'd ever seen. It was bigger that half the houses he had seen and it looked like it could carry one. The blond immediately understood that things just got really serious.

"Run ahead!" he barked at the genin. "I'll catch up with you!"

"But…"

"That's an order!" Team Gai seemed to finally get that he actually meant it and ran along the way. Naruto turned back. He was about to do something he really hated doing, but he had no choice now. He bit his left hand and smeared the blood over the thin red line on his right hand.

"Come forth," he whispered. Immediately his body was filled with the familiar burning of Kyuubi's chakra. He brought his hands together in a handseal. 'This'd better work,' he thought. Even with the demon's support, he would have only one shot on this. Controlling such a technique over so great distance took an enormous amount of chakra and concentration.

"Fuuton: Shuryou Taka," he whispered, even though he usually cast his jutsu silently. Well, it wasn't like the Iwa ninja could hear him across the valley anyway.

The Hunting Hawk took form in front of him, gigantic apparition made entirely of wind and chakra, all but invisible in the rapidly falling night, and soared high into the evening sky. Naruto guided it to the other side of the canyon, right above the Queen Bee and the four ninja settling down on its back. They still hadn't noticed the approaching danger. The blond made sure to keep it outside normal shinobi's detection range.

"Attack," he commanded. The Hawk dropped from the sky, its wings pressed close to its body. It charged faster than any real bird of prey ever could. There was some movement near its target, but it was a blur to Naruto. Then the Wind Hawk slammed into the Queen Bee, who didn't have a prayer of a chance to avoid it. She was blown into smithereens as the jutsu disintegrated into thousands of Wind Blades.

Naruto let out a deep breath. So much for the summon. He wasn't sure whether he got its masters too or not, but he personally would bet that he would be seeing them again, though not anytime soon. He forced the last bits of Kyuubi's chakra back into the seal. The Fox was resisting, but it did him no good. Jiraiya's additional seal was working perfectly so far.

The jinchuuriki sighed tiredly. This was going worse and worse. What had happened to a week of simple D-rank missions? Why did he ever accept the C-rank? The Iwa ninja knew exactly where to wait for them. Their client was their agent. He could easily see how they had planned it. They would get assigned the escort mission, their client would get them into the Dancing Crane Inn, and the Iwa party would slit their throats in their sleep. But then he said they would be keeping watch during the night. Michi panicked and tried to get them drunk to lower their guard. 'Amateur. Like it would have worked, even if Lee didn't have such a violent reaction to alcohol.' But he did and they got thrown out of the Inn and the whole village. They moved forward. The Iwa ninja didn't know where did they go so they sent a scout. But then they noticed and recognized the Kamizuru clan bees and knew they were in trouble. They fought off the scout and tried to confuse their tracks, but the Iwa hunters found them without any trouble.

How? Was there a tracking seal on one of them? If so, why did they have to send a scout? And why would they bother to use it first place? Such a thing could be discovered and they didn't count on having to search for them. Scent track? That was more like it. His complete transformation could change scent, but it wasn't perfect. If he got the scent wrong, then the result was wrong as well. Chakra traces? Another possibility. Even if he did his best to mask the Kyuubi's youki, a little bit of it always leaked through. And since his clones had none, somebody well-attuned to it could pick up which trail was his.

Well, there was no use in musing about it now. He'd have to make precautions against all methods of tracking. He turned away from the canyon and ran after the three genin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The other side of the canyon~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Did you have to make so much lava, Roushi? I burnt myself when I fell too close to it." In fact the burns were barely noticeable, but Suzumebachi was furious. Her most powerful summon was lying around in pieces. They had noticed the attack in time to scatter, but the Queen Bee couldn't move so fast.

The Iwa foursome was slowly picking themselves from the ground. Kurotsuchi, Takeshi and Suzumebachi were fast enough to pull a Kawarimi before the Hawk landed. Roushi simply formed a cloak of Yonbi's chakra and the Wind Blades couldn't get through to him. Yet neither of them escaped unscatched.

Kurotsuchi was testing her leg. She had twisted her ankle when she misjudged her landing and it was now protesting when she put any weight on it. Takeshi was studying the deep gashes in his jounin vest. He picked a bad spot to escape to and some of the blades reached him, thankfully they were mostly dissipated by the time, otherwise he wouldn't be getting up at all. Roushi sported only a minor bruise from his abrupt landing when the summon had been destroyed.

"Can't you watch your step, young lady?" the old jinchuuriki snapped back.

The Kamizuru clan head scowled. "Don't you use that tone with me, you…"

"Quit it," Takeshi interrupted. "In case you forgot, we're in the middle of enemy territory. Even if this area is sparsely populated, somebody probably noticed all this. So we should move on if we don't want to fail the mission."

"And how do you propose to do that?" the woman asked. "I don't have enough chakra for another summon like that. Not to mention another summon like this," she added bitterly.

"We'll get down there," Takeshi explained. "Roushi, can you make a bridge?"

"Maybe," the old man shrugged. "I never tried before."

"Then you'll try now. And you'll better do it right. There were too many messes on this mission already."

"Even if we get to the other side, how do we know what they'll do next?" Kurotsuchi pointed out.

"They're heading for Sagae," the redhead man answered. "I got a glimpse at their jinchuuriki's thoughts. He plans to hide in the crowds."

"Well, we aren't going to allow it," Kurotsuchi smirked and jumped to her feet. In the next moment she fell back down clutching her ankle.

"It seems you aren't running anywhere today, little girl," Suzumebachi smirked evilly. She liked nothing better than getting one-up over the Tsuchikage's family and ever since her nephew Kageromaru, one of their best young ones, had died due to something stupid the ruling family of Iwa had cooked up, she grew to relish it even more than before. It was the only form of revenge she was allowed to take.

"She isn't the only one," Takeshi remarked trying to stop the bleeding. "Aren't you nearly out of chakra?"

"I can still walk, thank you very much," she sneered.

"Then get up and walk before somebody walks up on us."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On the road~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto caught up with Team Gai after a couple of minutes.

"They shouldn't be bothering us any time soon," he announced.

"Yosh! Your Flames of Youth shine brightly, Naruto-taichou!"

"Cut it," Naruto said wincing. "We still aren't out of danger. I destroyed their summon, but I think they got away."

"What are we going to do?" Tenten worried.

"Get to Sagae," the chuunin answered, hopefully before they do. "We can get lost in the crowds there. Then we'll head back to Konoha the long way. And now listen, here's the plan."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In the canyon~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Can't you work faster?" Kurotsuchi complained.

"If you're so smart, try it yourself," Roushi snapped back. The girl's whining was really getting on his nerves. He had a hard time not to grit his teeth aloud. Who did the little twit think she was? Did she think she could boss him around just because her grandfather was the Tsuchikage? She was still just a chuunin while he had been jounin long before she was born.

"We don't have all night," Suzumebachi added.

"The lava takes some time to cool down," he replied. What was it now? An official Pick-at-Roushi day? He really didn't like their attitude. Didn't they know he could wipe them from the face of earth with one jutsu?

"Konoha ninja might find us anytime," Takeshi added.

"If you're so smart, why don't you try a hand at it yourselves?" the jinchuuriki snapped. "Aren't you Doton users?"

"I don't know the technique," Kurotsuchi admitted.

"I'm more into clay and I don't have enough of it," her sensei said. "Besides the current would destroy whatever I could build."

"So shut up and wait," the old man suggested. He really wanted to smash them with his tails, but it would get him into trouble with the Tsuchikage once he got back to Iwa. Maybe he should blame it on the Konoha jinchuuriki, but he doubted Oonoki would be satisfied with that excuse, even should it happen to be true. He also had to decide whether he wanted to return to Iwa at all, but staying in Fire Country might prove detrimental to his health. He sighed and concentrated on keeping the lava in the shape of an arch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sagae~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So here we are," Naruto said. They had been traveling whole night, never settling down to sleep. The three genin were exhausted, but the chuunin didn't allow them to rest. It wasn't like they could sleep. Every movement in the forest sounded like a nearing assassin to them. When the dawn painted the sky in red, they finally saw the river Agano and upon it the harbor town of Sagae.

"Do you know what you should do?" The three genin nodded. "Good. Now scatter. We meet here in an hour."

"What about money?" Tenten asked.

"Oh, I almost forget," Naruto slapped his forehead. He handed them three pouches. "Here you are." Neji took his with only a grunt of gratitude.

"Thank you," Tenten said.

"Thank you, Naruto-taichou! How very youthful of you to be always prepared!"

"Lee!" Naruto chided. "We're supposed to be inconspicuous, remember."

"I'm sorry! I'll do a thousand jumping-jacks!" The chuunin suppressed the sudden urge to bash his head against the nearest wall.

"Don't do any until we get back to Konoha and that's an order," the chuunin said. "You have an order, and that is to make yourself look inconspicuous, and that means no green and no spandex. Understood?"

"That's unyouthful," the taijutsu specialist complained.

"Being dead is unyouthful," the blond retoretd. "You'll do what I tell you, or you'll get your teammates killed." Lee seemed taken aback. "So do you understand the order?"

"Yes," Lee nodded. "We have to buy civilian clothes and meet you here."

"Good. And now go. The time is running short." The two male genin headed to the city. Tenten stayed behind.

"May I ask something, Naruto-senpai?"

"What is it?" he asked tiredly. He hoped she wouldn't take long. He was tired and he had his own disguise to take care of.

"Where did you get the money?" she questioned.

"Don't ask."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Downtown Sagae~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Neji was looking at a potential selection of clothes. Should he take the beige kimono or the grey one? Or maybe the white one? He'd look like a Main House member for a day. It was an alluring prospect. Then he shook his head. Rather not. Fate didn't like when people tried to defy her.

"You know, Neji," Tenten said from behind him, nearly making him jump, "we are supposed to change our appearance the most we can. What you have here looks too much like your regular clothes."

"So what would you suggest?" He immediately regretted his words when he noticed his teammate's mischievous smirk.

"Oh, I can help you with your selection," the weapon mistress smiled. "Nobody would be able to recognize you afterwards." Neji felt dread running along his spine for no apparent reason.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Meeting place~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Team Gai met on the designated place. Tenten was dressed in a white T-shirt and knee-length pink skirt, her hair held up with a purple bow. Neji ended up cross-dressed as a girl, in a long purple kimono with white cherry blossom pattern, a purple scarf covering his branded forehead and large ornate sunglasses hiding his white eyes. His hair was done in a bun held together by ivory needles. His attire was completed with a pink parasol. He would make the perfect picture of a proper young lady, if it wasn't for the sour grimace that seemed frozen on his face. Lee…

"Lee," Tenten said slowly. "Do you remember what did Naruto-taichou tell us?"

"Yosh!" the thick-browed genin replied proudly. "Dress in civilian clothes, no green and no spandex."

"And?" She prodded.

"And what?" Lee was utterly clueless.

"Didn't you forget something?"

"I don't think so," the boy answered, not too sure of himself. He had no time to write it down in his notebook, so he might have forgotten something, which would be unyouthful.

"What about inconspicuous?" Tenten suggested.

"What about it?" Rock Lee didn't understand.

"Tell me," the girl began, "why did you dress up in this?"

Lee looked at his garments, the bright blue pants and orange yukata covered with a yellow vest with black kanji 'youth' on the back. "What's wrong with it?"

Tenten slapped her forehead. "Forget about it."

"What's more important," Neji interrupted, "the hour is up. Where is Naruto?"

"I'm sorry, children, are you looking for someone?" The female voice was sweet like honey, suggesting at the beauty of it owner. The three genin looked at its source.

A woman stood there, a bit older than they expected based on her voice, dressed in a tasteful blue kimono, her long black hair tied in a ponytail. She was holding a toddler on her arms. A man stood behind her dressed like a lesser samurai, a sword at his side. A girl of perhaps five years was hiding behind his legs. Altogether they looked like a middle class family.

"Just a friend of ours," Neji answered.

"Maybe we can help you," the warrior offered.

"Thank you, sir, but that won't be necessary," the Hyuuga declined.

"But we really want to help," the little girl insisted. "After all it isn't every day we meet three young ninja here." Team Gai instantly went on guard. Neji activated his Byakugan.

"Relax, Neji," the woman said. "If I were only guessing, you would have now proven me right."

"How do you know my name?"

"Naruto?" Tenten guessed.

"The one and only," the man replied. "Well, in four renditions now."

"How?" Neji didn't understand. "They look completely real."

"That's my secret," the child smiled.

"Now let's go," the mother commanded. "I booked us passage on a ship. It's leaving in half an hour."

"Wouldn't they find us by it?" Neji worried.

"They're looking for four kids, not a large family. And I sent groups of clones in different directions. It would take them a long time to sort through all the false trails."

"Won't Lee's outfit give us away?" Tenten worried.

"What's wrong with it?" The clone – five year old girl – looked clueless.

"What if they figure out where we are while we're still aboard?" Neji questioned.

"We'll leave the ship during the night. I doubt they would catch up with us so fast." It was close to noon now.

"Good," Tenten said. "And would you tell us now where you got the money?"

"No."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maito Gai was excited. He had completed his mission a full day earlier than expected and was now on his way home. His Flames of Youth shone through victoriously once more. Soon, he would see his youthful students again. The thought made him to race to the gates of Konoha. He had nobody to race against, but that never deterred him. Backing away from a challenge was unyouthful. Soon the gates of Konoha appeared in front of him. He barely scrambled the patience to check in with the guards and suffer through the mission debriefing. Then he could finally greet his team.

The problem was, he couldn't find his genin anywhere. Their usual training ground was empty, despite being their time for training, and his precious Lee and Tenten weren't home. The last possibility was trying the Hyuuga compound, but he never liked dealing with the clan. They were too unyouthful in his opinion. The guard at the compound gate looked at his youthful outfit with open distaste, but he answered his question. Neji wasn't there. His team left on a mission early yesterday morning and they weren't due back for a couple more days.

"Mission?" wailed Gai. "What mission? How could my students go on a mission without me? They're still too new!"

"All I know is they were assigned one," replied the guard in a bored tone. The Taijutsu master realized he won't learn anything else here, thanked the man and headed to the Hokage tower. He walked up to one chuunin on duty in the mission room and asked him about the mission his genin took.

"One moment, sir," said the woman and found the mission scroll from yesterday. She studied it for a while, a frown appearing on her pretty face.

"That's strange," she said. "I can't see them here. Are you sure it was yesterday?"

"I was told they left yesterday morning," he informed her.

"Maybe it was assigned the day before," she shrugged and studied the proper scroll. It yielded the same result: nothing. She checked the next scroll in the order. "Ah, here it says Team Gai: a D-rank, completed."

"That isn't what they left the village for," Gai objected.

"No, it isn't," the kunoichi nodded. "According to this, they aren't on a mission at all."

"But they aren't in Konoha as well," he pointed out.

"That is strange," she agreed, "but I can't tell you where they are."

"Thank you," Maito Gai said absently, now seriously worried about his students. "Can you at least tell me who was supposed to watch over them during their missions?"

"Of course. Here it says 'Uzumaki Naruto.'"

"Thank you, my fair blossom of youth." Gai flashed her brightest smile. The girl shuddered. "And where would I find him?"

"How would I know?" she shrugged. "This doesn't say he's on a mission, but this lists only C and D ranks."

"Oh. Thank you anyway."

Such started the second part of Maito Gai's anabasis. Locating Uzumaki Naruto proved to be a daunting task. Most people had no idea where he was and were happy that way. He managed to track one of his teammates in the hospital, but she had no idea where he was either. It wasn't until he tried asking the gate guards when one found in their log that Naruto together with his team and some other guy left the morning before, apparently on a C-rank mission. Unfortunately the log didn't say where they were headed. So it was going back to the Mission room.

So far his investigation was proving to be an exercise in futility. The helpful kunoichi from before didn't know anything more and the other chuunin on duty were only shrugging their shoulders. Neither of them had sent his team anywhere and as for the jinchuuriki, they had no idea where he was and were quite happy that way. Gai was just about ready to tear out his hair, but being bald would have been unyouthful.

"Excuse me," somebody spoke behind him. Maito Gai whirled on his feet. He was so distraught that he didn't notice anybody behind him until the person spoke. Such inattention was unyouthful. He found himself looking at a young man in chuunin vest with a bandanna on his head. The stack of documents in his arms suggested he was one of the administration workers in the building. The taijutsu master had the vague feeling he had seen him before, but couldn't remember the person's name.

"Hello," he greeted. "Who you might be?"

"Kamizuki Izumo," the stranger introduced himself. "I heard you were looking for your team." Gai wasn't exactly quiet in his questioning.

"You know where they are?" Maito Gai's eyes lit with hope.

"I don't know that," Izumo replied, "but I happened to be here yesterday when they were given their mission."

"Thank you very much!" The Beautiful Green Beast nearly started shedding manly tears of joy.

"You're welcome," the chuunin smiled. "It was hard not to notice them. Naruto was arguing quite loudly that they shouldn't be sent on a C-rank mission. I couldn't linger here, but I'd wager he accepted in the end."

"Thank you!" shouted Gai and embraced the startled chuunin. "Your Flames of Youth burn so bright!" Izumo was so shocked that he dropped his paperwork. He watched the documents floating around to room, desperately trying not to think about the green-clad man currently squeezing him. Needles to say, it was an impossible task.

Finally the taijutsu master released him and the chuunin could breathe freely. But he was too hasty in thinking he was safe. The next moment his ears nearly burst from the sound of Gai's shout.

"So which most unyouthful person sent my youthful students on a mission and lied about it?!" Complete silence was his only answer.

"Ah, Gai-san," Izumo said trying to get rid of the ringing in his ears, "I don't think he's here."

"You know who it was?" The chuunin found himself once again the center of the jounin's attention. He didn't like it one bit.

"I saw him," he answered. "A grey-haired young man with a bandanna and a sour face. I think he might be teaching at the Academy, but I'm not sure."

"Then let's go find him!" Gai shouted and sprinted towards the Academy. Izumo sighed. He reached to pick his strewn pile of documents from the ground, but then paused. If a team of Konoha shinobi got lost, and one of them was Uzumaki Naruto, then the Hokage would surely want to hear about it. He left the papers be and jogged towards the Hokage's office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Aboard the ship~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had one cabin for themselves. Naruto still refused to reveal where he got the money for it. The three genin were resting, only Naruto remained awake. He had to, otherwise his clones and Henge would dissipate. It was hard for him to stay awake for so long, especially after a battle, but he had gone through worse on the frontlines.

"Naruto-taichou?" The chuunin startled. He didn't realize there was somebody else awake in the room. That was bad. If his awareness was slipping like this, the Iwa squad might be able to sneak up on them.

"Neji?"

"May I ask you a question?" Any other time the blond would have retorted with something witty, but today he had no energy for it.

"You may," he answered simply.

"Why did we run and hide?" That certainly wasn't what he was expecting.

"What?" he blinked. "What else could we do?"

"We could fight," the Hyuuga offered.

"And how well do you think this would go?" The chuunin, currently disguised as a samurai, questioned. "In case you didn't notice there was a jinchuuriki there."

"But you are one as well," the white-eyed boy (currently masquerading as a girl) pointed out.

"So I am," he nodded.

"You have the Kyuubi," Neji pointed out.

"So I do," the chuunin confirmed.

"Then you can take him out," the Hyuuga said.

"Neji, it isn't that simple," Naruto sighed. "In case nobody told you, fighting isn't only about raw power. Roushi is old, he has decades of battle experience on me. His attacks are physical while mine are mostly chakra-based, so I need much more energy to get through to him. He also has better control of his demon and last but not least, he has three powerful allies. It would be an uphill battle for me at best."

"Still, you're the stronger," the Branch House Hyuuga insisted. "Fate wouldn't allow you to lose."

"Neji," Naruto groaned. "Cut the crap about fate right now and that's an order! There is no such thing as fate, especially not in the sense you see it. You have your life and you do whatever you can with it."

"Fate decided what you have. There's nothing a person can change about it."

"Neji, I gave you an order."

"Sorry, Naruto-taichou."

"You'd better be. And now listen, I'm in no mood to repeat myself. I gathered that your life isn't good." Here the Hyuuga Branch member snorted. "I gathered that you consider it downright crappy. But do you think you are the only one who has it bad? Do you think you are the only one who's hurting? Do you?" He waited for an answer. After a moment Neji reluctantly shook his head. "I thought as much. You see, there are loads of people, who got it bad, and do you see them wandering around whining about fate? No. So why do you insist on doing it?" He paused for a moment. The Hyuuga didn't offer an answer. He stared at his feet instead. "Do you know what most people, who got it bad, do? They do something about it. So why don't you? Did you fail once or were you too scared to even try to begin with?"

"You don't know anything," the genin shouted.

"Keep it down," Naruto chastised him, "we're not alone."

"I don't know much about you, but what do you know about me to judge me?" The Hyuuga remained silent. "I've heard about your father," the blond whispered. "It was cruel, but at least it prevented worse things from happening, at least for a while."

"And I've heard about you," Neji whispered back. He suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with contempt. "Why did you get to live when he didn't?"

"It might sound like a similar situation, but in fact it wasn't. Back then, nobody really wanted war and they were only bluffing. That's why the Cloud Village didn't declare war on us the moment they realized Hyuuga Hiashi was still alive. Half a year ago, everybody was out for each other's blood and the 'peace offer' was only pretense. Even if we gave in to the Tsuchikage's outrageous demand, the war would have begun anyway."

Neji simply stared at him wordlessly. "It was fate, then."

Naruto sighed exasperatedly. "I told you not to speak about it. Though, I might have to agree with you on this. There are things we can do nothing about, but they are rare. And you can play a good game of cards even if life deals you a shoddy hand."

"Some are so bad you'll lose anyway," Neji stated bitterly.

"You never know unless you try," the younger boy replied sagely.

"Why bother if the probability of failure is too great?" the Hyuuga questioned.

"Maybe because once you start giving up, you might not be able to quit."

"Then why did we run?" the genin demanded. "Why didn't you face the Iwa squad?"

"Because my mission is to protect you," the chuunin explained. "If such a battle took place, you would be caught in the crossfire and killed. You might be good for your age, but wait until you make jounin before thinking about getting between two battling jinchuuriki. And even then, don't do it anyway."

"I'll remember that."

"You better do," Naruto advised. "You might live longer that way. And you should get your rest. You won't get much of it once we move."

* * *

And that's it for today.

Next time: Will Naruto&co. escape? Will the rescue team find them in time? And who will be in the rescue team?


	47. Pursuing

**Author's note:** Here comes another chapter. Unfortunately, I didn't finish the promised illustration. Maybe next time. I've been unyouthful. I'll go run a hundred laps around Konoha now.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Not even the Flames of Youth.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha Academy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana's patience was being tested to its limits. Having been released from the hospital two days before, but not declared fit for heavy duty yet, she took the mission of replacement teacher in the Academy until one of the regular staff got over her cold. She had thought it would be a piece of cake compared to what she had already gone through. Oh, how naïve of her. She had one younger brother at home, so she should have had some idea how this assignment would go. Now take Kiba as he was a couple of years back, multiply by thirty and you might get an idea. Unfortunately for the kunoichi it didn't occur to her to do the math beforehand.

"Just where do you think you are going?" she growled at the unruly academy student she caught sneaking away. The first year of the Academy was more of a kindergarten than a place of study, with the children too young to be trained it hardly could be any other way. But the instructors were obliged to instill some skills and knowledge into them, so here came today's tracking exercise.

"I was following the track," the six-year old answered with confidence, completely unfazed by her bared fangs.

"Oh?" she quirked an eyebrow. "And pray tell me, what track do you see there?" She pointed in the direction the boy was trying to take off. There was a stripe of mud and not a single footprint disturbed its smooth surface.

"That one," the boy with a strange cap on his head pointed at the undisturbed surface. He probably thought that by being confident he could undermine her own confidence. Well, he was in for a surprise.

"There are no tracks there," she informed him, "and if you want to lie, come up with something believable. Are you a ninja or not?"

"Of course I am!" the student-beginner shouted in rage. "I'm the best ninja you'll ever meet!"

"It sure doesn't look that way," she replied nonplussed. The kid turned red.

"But I am!" he shouted. "I will be the Hokage!"

"You?" Her voice was filled with doubt.

"You'll see!" the squirt insisted. "I'll just beat grandfather and then he'll have to give the hat to me!" Only now the Inuzuka realized who she had been holding. There were so many kids that she couldn't remember them all. Now what was the Honorable Grandson's name? She had the vague idea that it was something long, but she couldn't recall it.

"You aren't going to defeat your grandfather if you keep skipping classes," she told him frankly, bringing him closer to his face.

"Please let go of Konohamaru-chan," a girl with twin pigtails pleaded. So that was the brat's name! She knew it sounded stupid.

"Yes, let go of me, you hag!" Konohamaru shouted. 'Hag?' Hana's eyebrow twitched. This little piece of… called her a hag? Now, the dog mistress was usually even tempered, well, for an Inuzuka anyway, but after listening to little kids bickering all morning, her patience was running thin.

"As you wish," she replied with a smirk and dropped the struggling student right into the aforementioned patch of mud. He landed with a satisfying splash.

"How dare you drop me into the mud?!" Konohamaru shouted in outrage.

"And why should I not?" the Inuzuka heiress shrugged. "When you're talking dirty, it's only fitting you look the part."

"You…you…," the Honorable Grandson was struck speechless. He was reduced to trembling with rage.

"Are you alright, Konohamaru-chan?" the pigtailed redhead asked with concern.

"He'll live," a dark-haired boy with a runny nose said, "but I'm worried about the teacher. There's no telling what he'll do to her."

"I think she can take care of herself, Udon-chan," the girl replied.

"You know how Konohamaru-kun gets when he's pissed, Moegi," Udon countered.

"Stop it, the three of you," Hana interrupted them, "and return to the rest of the class." Udon and Moegi obeyed quickly, dragging the still seething Konohamaru with them.

They returned to the group. The other instructor, a chuunin by the name Suzume Namida, welcomed her with a nod.

"I see you caught them."

"It wasn't hard," the Inuzuka replied.

"You are getting the hang of it," the older woman smiled.

"It's easy when there are four of us," Hana smiled back, looking at her canine partners. The Haimaru siblings were running in circles around the group, herding in any wayward students. They were no sheepdogs, but they learned quickly. Only the very best got through them.

"Maybe you should consider taking a job here on permanent basis," Suzume offered. "You are good with the children."

"Heaven forbid," the younger kunoichi shuddered. "I don't think I could bear with them any longer. I hope Yutaka-san will get better soon, or these little hellions will drive me crazy."

"Really? Consider it seriously, it would get you off the frontlines." The teacher couldn't understand how anybody could want to fight in the first line. Hana in turn couldn't understand how anybody could want to deal with the little hellspawns on regular basis.

"Battlefields aren't as stressful as this," she muttered. "And where do you two think you are going?!"

"Samo! Chen! Come back!" Suzume supplied the names of students Hana couldn't remember. The two culprits reluctantly returned to the fold.

"And don't even try to tell us you were following a track," the Inuzuka scolded them. "The exercise is already over. We're heading back."

"You wouldn't want to miss lunch, now would you?" the more experienced teacher added. It had a miraculous effect on the students' morale. Now they raced who would be the first back in the Academy building. It took a while to make sure that no stragglers remained in the training grounds, but eventually they could call the exercise successfully finished. Hana had her doubts if they would retain anything of the knowledge she tried to impart on them, but that wasn't her problem anymore. Now she was going to have a nice, tasty lunch an then… well, then she would have to teach another class. But she wasn't going to let that prospect ruin her meal.

But her ideal noon break wasn't going to be. As soon as she took out her bento, her ears picked up a loud shout. That in itself wasn't strange in the building filled with unruly kids and their frustrated teachers, but this one was a grown man's voice. And although she couldn't be sure thanks to all the walls distorting the sound, she thought she heard her young teammate's name being called. That of course piqued her interest, so she took off to investigate.

It didn't take her long to locate the source of the disturbance. She came upon a tall man with a bowlcut dressed in green spandex and jounin vest, currently manhandling one of the Academy teachers. The silver-haired man, whose name slipped from her mind, was looking scared.

"What's going on in here?" she shouted, putting all the authority of a clan heir into her voice.

"He's crazy!" the chuunin screamed. "He's trying to kill me!" Hana somewhat doubted it. The other man looked like a jounin and if he was really trying to kill him, he would have been already dead.

"Tell me where are my students!" the black-haired man bellowed.

"I don't know what are you talking about," his captive defended. But he smelled like lies to Hana's nose. It was almost drowned by his stench of fear, but she could detect it nevertheless.

"Really, what's going on here?" a new voice entered the discussion. The Inuzuka turned to look at the speaker. It was a young chuunin with a high ponytail and a scar across his face. She recognized him as Umino Iruka, teacher of her brother Kiba.

"This unyouthful person sent my youthful students on a mission they weren't ready for!"

"That's not true," the silver-haired chuunin gasped.

Iruka took a moment to process the sentence. "Gai-san, please release Mizuki-san. We can talk about it like civilized people."

Gai showed no intention to obey. "He might try to run."

"Why would he run?" Iruka objected. "And how could he outrun you?" That convinced the taijutsu master. He dropped his captive unceremoniously on the ground. Mizuki slid along the wall, breathing heavily.

"He's insane," he gasped.

"Where did you send my students?!" Gai scowled at him.

Mizuki turned pleading eyes to Iruka. "Help me here!"

"First say where is my team!" the jounin demanded.

"Why do you think he knows where is your team, Maito-san?" the scarred chuunin interjected.

"He sent them on a mission yesterday!"

"I did not!" Mizuki protested.

"They saw you!" Maito Gai accused.

"Who did?" Iruka questioned.

"That's not true!" Mizuki protested.

"That one chuunin," Gai answered. "I can't remember his name."

"And what exactly did he see?" Iruka inquired.

"He saw Uzumaki arguing with him that he couldn't accept a C-rank with a fresh team."

"Naruto?" Iruka frowned. "What does that boy have to do with anything?"

"So my teammate was with them?" Hana asked.

"Your teammate?" Mizuki asked. The look in his eyes at the moment… it was gone too quickly to be properly identified, but the kunoichi didn't like it.

"Yes," she confirmed. "So where did you send them?"

"I didn't send them anywhere," he replied. "They refused the mission."

"Then why did they leave Konoha?" Gai inquired.

"How would I know what was the demon brat thinking," Mizuki spat.

"Don't talk about Naruto that way," Hana growled. "And by the way, you smell of lies. Lies and fear."

"Now, now," Iruka interjected. "What are you accusing my colleague of?"

"I'm not accusing him of anything," the Inuzuka answered. "I'm merely stating the facts. So spill it. What did you do?" The Haimaru growled and bared their teeth. Mizuki visibly paled.

"Nothing," he refused to change his story. "Get them off me!"

"Not until you tell the truth," she informed him.

"Lying is so unyouthful," Gai added.

"Now let him be," Iruka defended his friend. "He already said he didn't do it."

"And we already said we don't believe him," Hana shot back. "So you better spill your guts soon or my darlings will do it for you. They didn't have lunch yet and neither did I."

Mizuki was now shaking. "They're both insane."

"Are we?" the brunette raised an eyebrow. "And shouldn't you humor the lunatics, lest there is no telling what they might do?"

Before anything else could be said, two ANBU appeared in the hallway. Following behind them was the figure of a chuunin Hana was familiar with.

"That's him," Izumo pointed at Mizuki, who was still squirming on the ground.

"It wasn't me!" the accused shrieked.

"What's going on?" Iruka demanded.

"Touji Mizuki, you're under arrest," one of the ANBU declared.

"That must be some mistake," Iruka said. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He knew Mizuki since their Academy days. The man wouldn't do anything wrong. Would he?

"I didn't do anything," Mizuki protested, but the ANBU paid him no heed. They grabbed the silver-haired chuunin and roughly pulled him to his feet. They dragged him away without any delay.

"What is this all about, Izumo-san?" Iruka turned to the person he knew the best.

"Mizuki assigned a C-rank mission to a fresh genin team, his team," he pointed at Gai, "and their temporary chuunin commander, despite their protests. He didn't make any record of the mission assigned."

"Than maybe the mission wasn't assigned at all," Iruka tried.

"It was," Izumo corrected. "The team left and showed the mission scroll to the guards. They even had their client with them."

"That must be some mistake," the scarred chuunin shook his head. "Mizuki wouldn't do that. He wouldn't endanger three innocent children…"

"Four," Hana growled. Haimaru growled with her.

"What?" Iruka asked startled.

"There are four innocent children," the Inuzuka clarified. "Or did you forget about Naruto?"

"I didn't," the chuunin answered.

"Then why didn't you count him?" she demanded.

"Because he's…"

"He's what?" she prodded.

"He's already a chuunin," Iruka stammered, hoping the answer would placate her.

"Hn," Hana growled. She knew very well that this wasn't what he wanted to say, but decided not to pursue the matter. "He's younger than them."

"My poor youthful students," Gai wailed. "What happened to them?"

"Before you tear up each other," Izumo interjected, "The Hokage wants to see the two of you."

"Let's go!" Gai shouted and sprinted towards the tower. Hana followed behind him at a slower pace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Forest~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Konoha was low on manpower, that's what the Hokage had said, and couldn't afford to send too many of its elites to chase after one genin team and one jinchuuriki, who maybe weren't even in trouble. Mizuki hadn't cracked yet when they left. Also most of their troops were tied on war-related duty somewhere and they couldn't afford to pull them on such mission. So it was now only her, Maito Gai and one Hatake Kakashi. Hana remembered the man. He was one of the ANBU guards accompanying the Hokage to the fateful Chuunin Exams. She had also heard about his reputation. The only surviving student of the Yondaime Hokage, known also as the Copy Ninja or Sharingan no Kakashi, feared by enemies, hated by the Uchiha clan. She had taken an instant dislike towards the man. He had answered the summons to the Hokage's office late, openly reading Icha-Icha Paradise, another thing he was notorious for. But she was glad he was with them, even when Gai shouted at him something about his 'eternal rival' and Kakashi ignored him pointedly. She felt that his strength would be needed in what was ahead.

Late in the afternoon, they reached the trading outpost of Ogawa. The Haimaru swiftly wove their way through the hustle and bustle of the trade village until they reached the Dancing Crane Inn. A couple of workers were repairing a hole in the façade.

"What happened here?" Hana wondered.

"Are you Konoha ninja?" a man, judging from his self-important air probably the inn owner, asked in a sharp tone.

"That's what our headbands say," Hana replied.

"So you have to pay for this!"

"What?"

"Yes you!" The man pointed at Gai. "It was your son who started it!"

"Your son?" Hana raised an eyebrow.

"Oh! How youthful! This youthful man thinks Lee is my son!" The Green Beast started shedding manly tears of joy.

"Hn, did you say something?" Kakashi remarked from behind his orange book. Hana had no idea when did he take it out.

"Yes," shouted the innkeeper enraged. "It was your brat who started the fight so pay up!"

"Lee would never do that!" Gai protested. "Starting a bar brawl is unyouthful!"

"I don't care what is youthful or unyouthful, I only care about getting my money," the businessman informed them.

"How unyouthful!"

"Stop the crap already," the innkeeper scowled. "Your son got drunk and trashed my inn. Where is my money?"

"My Lee wouldn't drink! That's unyouthful!" Gai insisted.

"Shut up and pay!" The innkeeper insisted.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Kakashi peeked from behind his book.

"I said give me my money!" the innkeeper bellowed.

"We're not responsible for the damage another team have supposedly done," Hana snapped. She wasn't sure whether it was true, but she figured out the innkeeper didn't know either. "If you want your money back so much, send a complaint to Konoha and the bureaucrats will sort it through, in a few months. Or years. We're on a mission and we cannot afford to lose time with you. Or would you like to be listed as the cause of mission failure?" She turned on her heel and left, commanding the Haimaru to pick the trail again. Kakashi and Gai followed her, Gai with a shout about youth, leaving the speechless innkeeper behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Crossroads~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The place was a battlefield. Any shinobi worth their headband would know it upon the first glance. But what exactly had occurred there? That required an experienced ninja to decipher.

"Only one dead body here," Hana summarized her findings. "Judging by his scent it's their client. And he's been dead since yesterday evening."

"Lots of Wind jutsu damage to surrounding trees," Kakashi observed.

"That's Naruto's style," the Inuzuka replied.

"And lots of little dead insects on the ground," Gai added.

"I noticed them as well," the kunoichi said. "They look strange."

"You're right," Kakashi said examining one of the tiny bodies closely. "Those are Kamizuru bees."

"Kamizuru?" Hana's eyes widened. "The Iwa clan?"

"Yes," the masked man confirmed.

"How did they get here?" the dog mistress wondered. "This is the opposite side of Fire Country than the frontlines."

"The patrols must have been unyouthful in their duty," Gai frowned.

"That doesn't matter now," Kakashi interjected. "Can you tell which way did they go or should I summon Pakkun?"

"Of course I can," Hana growled. Insulting her dogs' noses was one of the worst insults you could say to an Inuzuka. "They went that way," she pointed at the road to Sagae. "Both Naruto and his team and their pursuers. Naruto created multiple Shadow Clones and had them Henge into your team to confuse the tracks, but the Iwa group didn't fall for it."

"Did you find out anything new about them?"

"Not really," she shrugged. "Two men, two women. One of the men has something strange in his scents. There's something familiar about it, but I can't put my finger on it. It might be they're somebody I've encountered before, but only briefly."

"We should go. We're still a day behind," Kakashi pointed out.

"Yosh! Let's save my youthful students!" He took off at a sprint. Kakashi and Hana sighed and raced after him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Former Bridge of Heavenly Peace~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, Gai, your students are sure leaving an impression," Kakashi commented surveying what remained of the once famous bridge.

"Their Flames of Youth must have burned too brightly," Hana remarked looking at the molten ground. It had cooled down since yesterday, but the level of destruction was still clearly apparent.

"Yosh! I will run a thousand laps around Konoha!" Gai exclaimed. No-one knew why.

"Let's get serious now," Kakashi suggested. "The damage around wasn't caused by any ordinary jutsu."

"You're right," the dog mistress agreed. "Even Naruto's Firestorm doesn't melt stone in this way."

"I know only one person capable of this," the masked jounin said. "Roushi, the jinchuuriki of the Yonbi, can create lava."

"He was at the Chuunin Exams," Hana remembered. "That's why he smelled so familiar. And now that I think about it, two of the others were there too."

"My youthful students are in so much danger!" Gai wailed.

"So what now?" the Inuzuka asked.

"Now we cross the bridge the enemy so conveniently left behind and resume pursuit," Kakashi shrugged. "What else?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sagae harbor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm sorry," Hana said standing on the pier, "I can't follow their trail anymore."

"So they boarded a ship," Kakashi mused. "But where did they go?"

"Maybe somebody saw them," Hana suggested.

"I wouldn't count on it," the masked jounin shook his head. "Didn't you mention that your Naruto was good with disguises?"

"He is," she confirmed.

"Then we can be almost sure nobody would recognize them even if they saw them. The question is, what would they do? You are the one who knows him the best."

"Hm," the kunoichi scrunched her brow in thought, "Konoha is upstream, but Naruto rarely does things simply. So he'd be more likely to go downstream, but that seems too obvious."

"So where did my youthful students go?"

"I think Naruto would leave the ship on first occasion," the chuunin mused aloud. "But where could he go?"

"Maybe I have an idea," the one-eyed man said.

"Where?"

"There."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Aboard the ship~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's finally dark," one of Naruto's henged clones remarked.

"So I noticed," Tenten replied. Their cabin had no lights and they could barely see each other in the darkness.

"Prepare yourself," the chuunin ordered, "we'll be leaving the ship as soon as the crew falls asleep."

"I don't see it happening anytime soon," Neji observed. He was right. Some of the passengers and a couple of sailors had opened a huge jug of sake, passed it around and were teaching each other drinking songs. They showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

"How unyouthful of them," Lee commented.

"They won't be a problem," Naruto decided. "Soon they will be too drunk to notice anything outside their group."

"And we're ninja," Tenten added. "If we weren't able to hide from a bunch of drunks, we wouldn't deserve our headbands."

"Well said," Naruto smiled, "but you shouldn't say such things aloud. You never know who's listening."

"Sorry," she grinned sheepishly.

"Nothing happened. I'd notice if somebody was close by."

They waited for about an hour. The party was still in full swing, but now few people were sober enough to notice what was going on around them. The quartet of Konoha shinobi had discarded their disguises, at least the parts that would slow them down. Especially Neji was nearly ecstatic to get rid of the pink kimono and parasol, even if he still looked like a girl. Sneaking off the ship was ridiculously easy. Though Rock Lee made a loud splash when he jumped into the water, the inebriated people paid it no mind.

They swam to the shore quickly. Naruto led them to a part of the shore, where a tree was growing directly above the water, its branches hanging low enough for the genin to grab. He wanted to avoid leaving tracks in the mud as much as possible. He quickly climbed onto the tree. Neji and Tenten followed him. When Lee tried it, the branch broke and he landed in the water with a splash that carried miles away in the quiet night.

"Lee!" Tenten hissed angrily. Neji frowned.

"I'm sorry," Lee apologized. "The tree couldn't hold my youthful training weights." He showed the metal bands around his ankles.

"You swam with these on?" Naruto asked, dumbstruck.

"Yosh!"

"How?"

"Gai-sensei taught me. Everything is possible when your Flames of Youth burn brightly!" Naruto decided not to ask any more. He felt it would be better for his sanity not to know.

"Whatever," he shrugged. "Now let's go. If the Iwa team is anywhere nearby, they must have heard this."

They ran through the treetops, Naruto leading the way, Team Gai following him. The night around them was quiet. Naruto wanted to remain on guard, but the sleep deprivation was slowly catching up with him. Keeping his eyes open was slowly becoming more and more of a struggle. One moment he realized they were running alongside a creek and he had no idea when did they see it first. Did he black out? Was he sleepwalking? Did he accidentally turn and led his team in a wrong direction? He looked up to check the stars. He sighed in relief. They didn't lose the way. They were still on the right track. And if everything went well, they would reach their destination in the morning. And hopefully they would be finally safe.

He prayed that he didn't miscalculate. When he had travelled in this area with Jiraiya during their search for Tsunade, the old pervert showed him that there was an outpost for Konoha ninja nearby, supposed to take care of sudden trouble arising in the region. But because the region was stable, the crew usually wasn't big. And being so far away from the frontlines, it might have been abandoned completely. Or manned with genin with one chuunin in command. That would have done them no good against the Iwa team. That made him pause. What if he was leading the enemy to massacre a bunch of helpless rookie shinobi? Shouldn't he change directions and try his luck elsewhere? They haven't seen hair nor hide from the Iwa team since yesterday evening, so maybe they lost them. Or maybe not and there was a trap waiting to spring any moment. He had no way to know. He could only hope that there would be some jounin at the outpost and that they would be able to help. Even if they won't be any help against Roushi, they could at least take care of the other three. The Yonbi Jinchuuriki would be Naruto's problem.

The chuunin suddenly realized that the creek they had been following was nowhere in sight. Was he lost so deep in his thoughts that he lost track of his surroundings again? It seemed so. He gazed at the stairs again. At least he didn't lose his sense of direction. It would be really embarrassing if they got caught by the Iwa team because they were unable to locate the base. They would be the laughing stocks of Konoha, if the village ever learned of their fate. He could just see some of the worst bigots in the village laughing about how stupidly the Kyuubi brat died. And there was no way he'd give them the satisfaction.

He was snapped from his musings by a sudden sense of chakra accompanied with a killing intent. It actually took him several moments to reorient himself, remember where he was and realize what was going on.

"Dodge!" he shouted even as several clay balls landed between them. The genin were quick to obey. The following explosion only flung them away instead of hurting them. Naruto quickly raced to them, searching the surrounding forest for the danger.

"You didn't really think you could get away from us, did you?" an unpleasant female voice sounded from the darkness. "All the effort you put into it. The clones. That must have been exhausting, wasn't it?" Naruto privately agreed, but didn't show it. "And the disguises. How long did it take to convince that Hyuuga to dress up as a girl?" Neji blushed deeply, but nobody could see it. "And the ship trip. That must have cost an arm and leg, didn't it?" It did, but considering that Naruto used his transformed Shadow Clones instead of real money, it didn't really bother him. "Well, guess what, it was all in vain. My bees can detect even the slightest difference in scent between the real you and your clones and can follow your scent even above water. So you see how foolish your efforts were?"

Unfortunately, Naruto could see. No matter what he did, he didn't manage to shake the pursuers. And now they got the drop on them. How did it happen? Why didn't he smell them? Besides being half-asleep on his feet, the Iwa team came upwind. And why didn't Neji's Byakugan detect them? Well, he forgot to instruct the genin to activate it periodically. And it didn't occur to the Hyuuga to do it. Or maybe it would have been too exhausting. He had no idea how much chakra did the Byakugan use. But there was no use in crying over spilled milk. They had been caught unawares and the only thing Naruto could do now was to figure a way to get them out of this situation alive. The problem was that he had no idea how to accomplish it. He could only stall for time and hope that his sleep-deprived brain would come up with something.

"You must be proud of yourself for catching a bunch of genin," he said. In the next moment he realized that taunting the obviously stronger enemy probably wasn't a good idea. He cursed inwardly. His brain really wasn't working right today.

"Who cares about the genin," the Kamizuru said dismissively. "It's you we're after. If you just left them behind, maybe you could have gotten away."

"I don't leave my comrades behind to die," the chuunin snapped angrily.

"Oh spare me," Suzumebachi groaned. "Konoha ninja and their Will of Fire. It makes me want to puke."

"Don't insult the Will of Fire!" Lee shouted angrily.

"I'll insult it all I want!" the bee-user shouted. "Don't think your so-called Will of Fire will save you here. No one will."

"We'll defeat you with our Flames of Youth!" It got a chuckle from the unseen enemy. Naruto just wished it was so easy.

"If it is our fate to die here, we will," Neji commented stoically. The whiskered chuunin suppressed a sudden urge to kick him.

"You're going to see that Konoha ninja aren't easy to kill," the blond stated.

"Ninja? What ninja?" a male voice asked derisively. "I see only a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears kids. In fact, you are the only one worth the effort, though just barely. But we have a bit of a problem here."

"What is it?" the chuunin inquired.

"We can't agree which one of us gets to kill you," the man explained. "Everybody has a valid claim and we just cannot agree whose is the strongest."

"Then draw straws or something," Naruto advised him.

"We tried," a girl's voice explained. "Everybody cheated."

"Can you stop arguing and kill them now?" yet another, irritated voice asked. "I'm getting bored here. If you don't act now, I'm doing it."

"Roushi is right," the first male voice said. "Let's stop fooling around and kill them." He followed his words by throwing a ball of explosive clay on Naruto. The chuunin countered it with a kunai that deflected the projectile into the underbrush, where it exploded harmlessly. Then the battle started.

* * *

And that's it for today.

Next time: Will Naruto & co. survive?


	48. Desperate fight

**Author's note:** Another chapter here! I'm very sorry for the delay. I just couldn't brink myself to write it. I was also running a hundred laps around Konoha for breaking my youthful promise. But now it's finished. I can't say when the next chapter would be ready. But on a more positive note, I finally finished the illustration I've promised two chapters ago. So if you want to see Team Gai in disguise, go to my DeviantArt profile.

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I still haven't made enough money to buy the rights. It might be because I write too much fanfiction.**

* * *

Naruto had heard that great excitement or danger washed away the tiredness and sleepiness and made you temporarily feel as fresh as if you had just gotten from your bed after a whole night's sleep. Now he wanted to have a few choice words with whoever came up with this crap. There was plenty of excitement around, his life and the lives of the three genin were in peril and he still felt like he wanted to just lie down on the forest floor and sleep for a week. It turned the odds against them even further in this already uneven battle.

Yet he mustered the strength for a Wind jutsu to blow away Suzumebachi's bees. Then his tired senses noticed too late that Takeshi had thrown an explosive ball at him and the blast threw him several paces. He landed close to Kurotsuchi's feet. The girl stabbed a kunai at him, but he managed to draw his ninjato and block her attack. He kicked at her knee, but she jumped away. He wondered if he fared so bad in this battle, how the three genin were doing.

Neji activated his Byakugan. It allowed him to see perfectly what was going on. At the moment, three of their opponents were concentrating on Naruto. The fourth was just standing in the background. That was odd. Why didn't he attack yet? From what the Hyuuga had gathered from their previous encounter, he was probably the strongest of the Iwa group. Though the behavior bothered him, Neji decided not to dwell on it too much. If Fate had decided that their strongest opponent wouldn't fight, then they should just accept its blessings and help Naruto. The chuunin needed it.

He quickly analyzed which one of the Iwa group was the most vulnerable to a surprise attack. The younger girl stood with her back to them, her fingers flying through seals in preparation for a jutsu, probably a genjutsu. Her attention was fully focused on Naruto. That made her an easy target. He quickly signaled his teammates, who both stood on guard, trying in vain to pierce the darkness with their inferior eyes, and the trio sprung into action.

Kurotsuchi noticed the approaching danger in the last second. The Juuken strike aimed to close the chakra flow to her internal organs hit only her right arm, making it temporarily useless. Her dodge brought her into the path of Tenten's shuriken, which scratched her thigh. She cried out in pain and anger. In the next moment Lee's kick slammed into her ribs, sending her flying.

The commotion announced the rest of the Iwa group that Team Gai had joined the battle.

"Small fries think they can play with big guys?" Suzumebachi sneered. She commanded a part of her hive to deal with the three genin. Takeshi just tossed one of his exploding clay balls between them.

Tenten was relatively far from the explosion, so she was only knocked to the ground. But as she got up, she was attacked with the Kamizuru bees and their poisonous stingers. She could feel the poison spreading through her veins, slowing her down. 'Curse it,' she thought. 'Now we are in trouble and we don't even have the sake to give to Lee.'

Neji was closer to it. As the blast threw him at a tree and the shrapnel bit into his flesh, he wished that he could learn the Kaiten. With that technique, he could have defended against the explosion easily. But the Kaiten was reserved for the main family, damn them. 'The moment I return, I'm going to learn the Kaiten, whatever the Main House says.' But as he tried to get up and realized that his left leg refused to support him, he understood that they wouldn't return home to Konoha. They were going to die here. How could he ever think that they might get out of this? They never stood a chance against these opponents. Such was Fate.

Lee was the closest to the explosion. He didn't mind as the air slammed into him, he was used to worse from his training with Gai-sensei. The shards of clay were the problem. As he landed on the ground painfully, he realized that getting up would be hard. He could tell that he was seriously injured. But lying on the ground while his comrades were fighting would be unyouthful. He had to get up. But he couldn't the way he was. He'd have to remove his weights. But was he allowed to? Gai-sensei had given him strict rules on when he could remove them. Lee couldn't remember what they were. He had written them down, but it was too dark to read. 'Forgive me, Gai-sensei, if I do something wrong, but I have to do it.'

He removed the weights. Suddenly getting up was much easier. Everything still hurt, but his Flames of Youth burned brightly and overcame the pain. He dashed forward, attacking Takeshi. Kurotsuchi would have been an easier target, but attacking a wounded opponent and a girl would have been unyouthful.

No matter how fast Lee was, Takeshi was a jounin and therefore faster than the genin. As Lee sprinted to him, the Iwa ninja kicked, hitting the younger Green Beast in the ribs and sending him flying. Rock Lee got up again, but this time slower. Takeshi's kick aggravated his wounds. Before he could attack again, he noticed a clay bomb flying at him. He dodged, but it wasn't fast enough. The explosion threw him into a tree. This time he wasn't able to get up again, no matter how he invoked his Flames of Youth. He lay on the ground helplessly, cursing his unyouthfulness.

Naruto blew a Wind jutsu to sweep away Suzumebachi's bees and then swiftly dodged a volley of kunai from Kurotsuchi. He almost ran into the path of Takeshi's explosive clay ball, but managed to avoid it with a Kawarimi. The situation was dire. They were only alive because Roushi didn't join the battle yet. Then an explosion caught his attention. He watched as the genin team tried to attack and were promptly curb-stomped. Were they still alive? He couldn't tell. But he could already tell that he was failing his mission to protect them. He was failing to protect them. If they weren't dead already, they would be soon. And he couldn't do anything about it because he was barely holding his own.

He felt red hot fury rising in him. He recognized it immediately. Any other time he would resist it valiantly, but not this time. Their situation was dire and there was nothing to lose anymore. He lifted his right hand to one of his small wounds and smeared the red line in blood. He opened himself to the power. The world turned red.

Kurotsuchi fell to her knees when the wave of poisonous Kyuubi's chakra slammed into her. It was just like when the monster had killed Akatsuchi, only this time it was much worse.

"Roushi!" she called the moment she found her voice. "Kill that thing! What are you here for?"

Roushi sighed. That pesky girl was ordering him around again. Oh, how he hated her. But she was right. He was there to deal with the Konoha jinchuuriki. Seeing how the currently two-tailed brat effortlessly swatted away Takeshi's exploding balls and Suzumebachi's bees refused to come anywhere near the tainted red chakra, he was really the only one who could do anything about it. But he still absolutely hated it.

"_**You know, you can just leave them here," **_Yonbi no Satori suggested. _**"The Kyuubi will make a short work of them."**_

"_Shut up," _Roushi replied trying not to show how tempted he was by the idea. The Satori wasn't fooled, as was apparent from its chuckle. _"We have a job to do."_

"_**As you wish," **_the Yonbi answered with a hint of irony in its voice. Then the familiar heat of the demon's chakra filled his veins. He was prepared to fight.

Naruto was seething. The bastard responsible for the worst injuries of his team was right in front of him, throwing his clay balls at him. The chuunin swatted the tiny bombs away effortlessly. They were too weak to pierce through his chakra cloak. He noted the shock and surprise in the man's eyes as he realized that his technique wasn't working. He felt a sense of satisfaction. He was more than happy to make the worm feel even more shocked before killing him. A part of his mind tried to tell him that such bloodthirstiness wasn't him, but he didn't care. Takeshi had hurt his genin and despite knowing them only for a short while, Naruto came to care about them.

Takeshi threw another volley of clay bombs at him, using them as a smokescreen to get away. Naruto wasn't fooled. He leapt through the explosion, pouncing on the Iwa jounin. It was so fast that Takeshi could only scream in terror before Naruto tore him in two with his chakra claws. Then another wave of demonic chakra slammed into him. He sneered and turned around. The Four-tailed Ape stood there, currently only in three-tailed manifestation. It roared its challenge. Naruto answered in kind. Then the ground under his feet turned into lava. He jumped out and rushed towards the Iwa jinchuuriki. It erected a wall of lava in his path. Naruto slammed his tails into it and ran straight through. Roushi hit him with his tails. Naruto was knocked down, but he sprang to his feet quickly. The two demon containers engaged in a fierce taijutsu battle.

Neji watched the fight with terror. The killing intent in the air was unbelievable. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew it was very bad. He had deactivated his Byakugan the moment Naruto had released the red chakra. The intensity of chakra threatened to blind him. He knew it was their fate to die here, but he couldn't help but feel scared. He didn't want to die. He had to get out of here. He had to help his teammates get out of here. He searched the surroundings for them.

Tenten was crawling over the ground. The bees that had stung her had fled from the two demons, but their poison lingered. The kunoichi was barely able to move. Rock Lee was worse off. The bees hadn't even touched him, but he had bee wounded by the explosion the most. He was slumped on the ground and Neji wasn't able to tell whether he was awake. He pushed himself to his hands and knees and crawled over to his fallen teammate.

"Lee," he called. The taijutsu specialist didn't answer. He was staring blankly at the two fighting jinchuuriki. He seemed to be in shock, but at least he was conscious. "Lee," Neji repeated. Once again he got no answer. "Lee!" Neji called. Nothing.

By that time, Tenten reached them. "Lee, can you hear me?" she asked. When he still didn't answer, she slapped him. That seemed to get through to him, because he blinked. Neji wondered why he hadn't thought of it.

"Tenten?" Lee asked in a small voice. It was so at odds with his usual boisterous nature that it slammed home the point how badly wounded he was.

"We have to get out of here," Neji said.

"Running is unyouthful," the taijutsu specialist objected, but it lacked his usual conviction. At the moment, a dragon made of lava flew through the forest so close to them that it almost scorched them. It was shortly followed by a Fuuton jutsu that stripped the trees above them of its leaves and knocked off the smaller branches.

"It's dangerous here," the weapon mistress pointed out.

"We have to get out of here quickly," the Hyuuga amended his original statement. Rock Lee nodded. No matter how bright his Flames of Youth burned, he could understand that they stood no chance against this.

"Can you move?" Tenten inquired. Lee tried it. He pushed himself to his hands and knees, but almost immediately collapsed with a pained yell.

"Not good," the girl frowned.

"We have to carry him," Neji said. The kunoichi looked at him oddly. They were unable to walk themselves. How were they supposed to carry their wounded comrade? But they couldn't leave him there. They had to manage. Somehow. In the end, each grabbed Lee under one arm and dragged him on the ground. It was slow going. The malicious chakra in the air made their breathing difficult and the jutsu the two combatants tossed in all directions made them scared that they would be hit at any moment. But by some miracle, all the techniques missed them. They were getting away from the source of danger. Or more likely, the two combatants were moving away from them. It didn't matter. What mattered was that they could breathe freely again and the lethal jutsu weren't flying so close to them anymore. Soon, they will be out of danger. They needed it. Even without medical training, they could tell that Lee's condition was serious and worsening and the poison in Tenten's veins was slowly spreading. They needed to stop and treat him as best as they could. Just a little longer and it would be possible.

"Well, well, well," a familiar and definitely unfriendly voice spoke. "So the worms are trying to crawl away? Tsk, tsk, we can't have that."

"Worms have to be squashed," a second voice added. Neji and Tenten looked up in stunned disbelief. Kurotsuchi and Suzumebachi stood there, both their faces twisted in a mask of rage and hate. The two Iwa kunoichi had fled the danger zone near the two jinchuuriki's fight and waited on the perimeter for whoever would try to escape.

Tenten couldn't believe their rotten luck. After all they did to escape, were they really going to perish here? She reached for her trusty kunai, but she knew it wasn't going to be enough.

Neji just sighed and closed his eyes in resignation. So it was their fate to die here. How could he have ever believed anything else?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Naruto~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto snarled as Roushi's lava attack slammed into him. He swung his tails at the opponent, but the Iwa ninja avoided them easily. The battle wasn't going his way. Roushi was using three tails of chakra and he only two. And he also seemed to be more in control. As a result, the Yonbi jinchuuriki was tossing him around. Naruto felt the urge to just pull on more chakra and smash the stupid monkey, but he suppressed it. He couldn't give in to the Kyuubi's temptations. This was as much chakra as he could handle without losing control completely. Even this was almost too much. The rage was threatening to consume him. He wasn't sure that he would be able to suppress the chakra again. But he couldn't dwell on it now. He had to deal with the old man from Iwa first. And he needed to keep a cool head for that. Because without a strategy, he would be screwed.

He dodged a punch and quickly jumped away from a patch of soil that suddenly turned into lava. He sprung at Roushi, attempting to punch him, but the Iwa jinchuuriki twisted to the side and kicked his torso. The chakra cloak blocked most of the hit, but it still sent him flying. What did he just say about strategy? He should listen to his own advice.

Well, so what did he so far find out about his opponent? Roushi was strong, skilled and his chakra cloak protected him from most attacks. Very few of Naruto's attacks connected and even fewer did any damage. He'd need something more powerful to get through his defenses. The problem was that using the Kyuubi's chakra disturbed Naruto's chakra control, so his attempts at jutsu had unpredictable results, usually nothing too dangerous for the enemy.

As Roushi nearly buried him under a lava waterfall, Naruto wondered whether he should lower the use of Kyuubi's chakra he was using to gain better control of it. But would it be worth the risk? He was sure that if he had any less power at his disposal, he wouldn't have escaped Roushi's last technique. But if he progressed this way, he was going to lose sooner or later anyway. Probably sooner than later, he thought as Roushi's tail sent him flying. He needed to end this fast and do it without resorting to using more of his tenant's chakra. He needed some move that would put all his power into one concentrated attack and then hit the Iwa jinchuuriki head on. Of all the techniques he knew, the one that packed the most destructive potential was the Rasengan. But that was hard to perform correctly even under the best of circumstances. Now, he wouldn't be able to keep the ball properly focused. Not even if he used both hands. One-handed version was something he still struggled with, so it was out of the question. But maybe he didn't need a perfect Rasengan. Even the incomplete version was dangerous enough. If he just sent Roushi flying, he could follow-up his attack. Now if he only could concentrate long enough to form the vortex.

Roushi seemed determined not to allow his opponent the time necessary to use any powerful technique. He needed some distraction. There wasn't much he could do. The landscape around them was desolate and heated by the Yonbi's chakra, nearly melting and tricky to stand on. It was something that gave the Iwa shinobi an advantage. Naruto had to change it. Despite his instincts and Kyuubi's voice screaming for him to attack, he turned around and ran.

Exactly as he expected, Roushi pursued him. The Iwa ninja was fast. Naruto had to try hard to stay ahead. Fortunately he didn't have to run far. Just a bit off their original battlefield, trees grew taller and thicker than was usual in the forest. Naruto headed straight for them. As he ran between them, he smashed his tails into the trunks of two nearby trees. The wood couldn't withstand the destructive power and began falling. Right into Roushi's path.

The Yonbi jinchuuriki just grunted and smashed the falling trees with his own tails. Splinters and logs rained onto him. He batted them away and ran on, but not without a couple of seconds of delay. And that was all Naruto needed. As Roushi ran through the obstacle, the chuunin was already waiting on him with a swirling ball of chakra in his palms. It wasn't a completed Rasengan by any measure and Jiraiya would probably scold him if he saw it, but it was enough to fulfill its purpose. When Roushi thought he had caught his prey, he found himself faced with the chakra vortex instead. He had just enough time to look surprised before the attack slammed into his chest.

The concentrated chakra of the incomplete Rasengan drilled through Roushi's chakra cloak and reached his flesh. Naruto realized that he was losing control over the technique. In a moment of panic, he fed it with more chakra. The ball exploded, throwing both the combatants in opposite directions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Team Gai~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So how are we going to kill them?" Kurotsuchi asked. "We can just slice their throats, but that would be too quick. After chasing them all the way here, I want some fun."

"I agree," Suzumebachi said. "When we can't kill the blond brat personally, we have to make do with these three weaklings. They aren't even worthy dirtying our kunai. Maybe I should just let my bees sting them to death?"

"And where would be the fun for me?" Kurotsuchi objected.

"There are three of them," Suzumebachi pointed out. "Even if one of them is almost dead. Just pick whichever you want to kill personally. I'll deal with the others."

"Why would you get two and I only one?" Kurotsuchi asked angrily.

"Well," the Kamizuru shrugged, "the ugly one will die on his own, so that leaves one for each of us."

"Fair enough," Kurotsuchi shrugged. "I'll pick the bitch."

"Than I'm left with the Hyuuga pansy," Suzumebachi shrugged. "Well, I never liked pansy boys."

The two Iwa kunoichi started towards them. Tenten gripped her kunai tighter. Despite the poison coursing through her veins and making her movements sluggish, she was determined to fight until her last breath. Even if they had no chance to survive, they were going to deal as much damage as they could. As she saw Kurotsuchi draw her own kunai with a bloodthirsty smirk, Tenten threw her own weapon. The kunai struck Kurotsuchi in the stomach and was stopped by her flak jacket. The Tsuchikage's granddaughter smirked maliciously.

"Is that all you can do? You tree-huggers are even weaker than I've thought. I can't understand how did your pathetic village last so long."

Seeing Tenten's desperate attempt, Neji was a bit ashamed that he didn't do anything. But what could he do? Both Rock women were too far away to use Juuken. And it would probably do them no good anyway. Fate had already decided that they would die here.

Suzumebachi commanded her bees to fly. So he was going to be stung to death. That wasn't a good death for a warrior. But what could he expect? He was just a lowly member of the Branch House. He should be glad that he had the honor of dying in battle and not after the activation of the Caged Bird Seal.

But the stings never came. Instead there was a dull thud.

"Dynamic entry!" a familiar voice shouted. Neji lifted his head. Was he hallucinating or did Gai-sensei just appear out of nowhere and kick Suzumebachi so hard she flew a good ten meters?

Suzumebachi cursed. She didn't see what hit her and where did it come from, but she immediately commanded her bees to attack it. It did her little good. Gai moved so fast that the insects couldn't catch up with him. He appeared next to her in her instant and kicked her with all his might. Her world went black.

Gai turned around. Where was the second enemy? He couldn't see her anywhere. Kurotsuchi, once she had realized that the situation had changed drastically, had used a jutsu to disappear underground and fled. Maito Gai could feel where she was and his first instinct was to pursue her. But...

"Gai-sensei!" Tenten's voice stopped him. "Lee's bad off!" His precious Lee, all of his youthful students, were more important to him than some escaping enemy. The moment he had seen the explosion of Bijuu chakra on the horizon, he had discarded his weights immediately, opened the Initial Gate and raced towards its source, leaving his companions in the dust. And now he found his youthful students and saw they needed help, he couldn't abandon them for anything. He was no medic, but he had some basic knowledge and a first aid kit. He began applying it as best s he could.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Naruto~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto picked himself from the ground. Everything hurt, but Kyuubi was already taking care of the injuries. He could move freely. He looked around, searching for his enemy. He was alone. Where was Roushi? Sure the blast couldn't have thrown him too far? But he couldn't see him anywhere. He couldn't feel him either. That was strange. The Yonbi's host should shine like a beacon, especially if he was using his tenant's chakra. Surely the explosion wasn't enough to kill him? A jinchuuriki could withstand much worse. So what could have possibly happened? Naruto didn't know. And he didn't care. He just wanted to find his opponent and finish the battle. He started off into the forest in search of him.

"Naruto!" He had no idea how long he had been searching in vain when the voice broke into his thoughts. It sounded familiar. Who was it? He couldn't remember.

"_**It doesn't matter. Kill them," **_Kyuubi suggested. It sounded like a good idea. There were enemies around. They've hurt... killed... uh... somebody. Who? It didn't matter. The enemies had killed somebody and they ran away before he could take his revenge on them. He had to take his revenge on someone. He had to kill someone. _**"That's how it supposed to be," **_Kyuubi grinned happily.

"Naruto!" the voice called again. It was closer now. And it was a woman's voice. Hey, that was wrong. Wasn't his opponent a man?

"_**There were women with him too," **_the demon fox reminded him. _**"It's one of them. Kill her."**_

But that sounded wrong. This voice, this wasn't the voice of an enemy. But why couldn't he remember who did it belong to?

"_**Does it matter? There are enemies all around. Kill her before she kills you!" **_That made sense. They were alone among enemies. They couldn't count on getting any help. Whoever this woman was, he should just kill her before she could cause him any more harm. Demonic chakra surging, he headed towards the source of the voice. Inside his mind, the Nine-Tailed Demon smirked triumphantly.

"Naruto!" the voice sounded for the third time. This time the boy could see its source. The girl was standing there, looking at him, her hands empty. She wasn't expecting a fight. If he pounced at her now, she wouldn't be able to defend.

"_**Do it. Kill her while she's defenseless."**_ But Naruto still hesitated. Why should he kill her? _**"Just do it!" **_Kyuubi sounded impatient. _**"This is the perfect chance!"**_

A dog barked. Naruto blinked. What was a dog doing here? Only Hana had dogs and Hana wasn't here. Then he looked at the girl again. It was Hana! How comes he didn't recognize her earlier?

"_**Kill her!" **_Kyuubi demanded angrily.

"_No!" _Naruto shouted. Curse it, the wretched kitsune had almost gained control of him again. How could it have happened? Probably because he had used its power for too long at once. How much time had passed since he had begun his battle with Roushi? He couldn't tell, but it felt like hours.

"_**Kill her!" **_the demon fox demanded in a voice that didn't suffer disobedience. Red hot anger seethed and threatened to consume Naruto's consciousness.

"_No!" _the chuunin shouted, turning the rage he felt against his tenant. _"You aren't going to control me! Never! I'm the master here!"_

"_**Don't get so cocky, mortal! You can never control my power!" **_the Bijuu raged. Naruto concentrated on pushing it back. It was hard. It got a solid hold on him during the fight. But Naruto was nothing if not persistent. It took a lot of struggle, but he prevailed. The Kyuubi was locked safely in its cage again.

Naruto collapsed to his knees, panting heavily. This battle had taken a lot out of him and he had been exhausted before it even began. The only reason he didn't faint right away was that everything hurt too much. But why did it hurt? Kyuubi had healed all his wounds almost immediately. And the pain wasn't coming from any wound, it permeated his whole body.

"Naruto!" Hana cried as she rushed to him and caught him before he hit the ground. "Are you alright?" That was a stupid question. Couldn't she see that he wasn't alright? But it was nothing serious. He hoped. He had trouble thinking. He was just too tired. He wanted to ask what was his teammate doing there when she was supposed to be recovering in Konoha, but opening his mouth would take too much energy. He briefly wondered what had happened to the genin team, but he was too tired to hold on that thought. His eyes closed on their own volition. Soon, he fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Roushi~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roushi grunted as he climbed to his feet. That last hit with whatever it was really hurt. Once he might have just shrugged it off, but that had been years, if not decades ago. Now he was just too old for this kind of crap. Being tossed around was something he would gladly live without. That Konoha jinchuuriki had some quite powerful technique if he was able to break through his chakra cloak so easily. He suspected some of his ribs were broken. The Yonbi would take care of it eventually, but what to do about the Kyuubi brat in the meantime? Use even the fourth tail? Roushi hated doing that. The chakra was too much to handle safely. But it was the only way to win.

"_**Why do you bother?" **_Yonbi no Satori asked.

"_What do you mean?"_

"_**Why does it matter if you win?"**_

"_Because... just because." _He was in no mood for his tenant's arguments. He could be sometimes almost as annoying as the Tsuchikage's little brat. He didn't want to deal with her or the exalted midget himself in case he failed.

"_**Look around carefully,"**_ the Four-tailed Ape advised him. _**"Who do you feel?"**_

Roushi stretched his senses. He had learned long ago that if the Yonbi ever said something like that, he'd better pay attention. It proved true this time too. He couldn't feel his companions anywhere. Wait, he could feel Kurotsuchi, but just barely. The girl was far away and running fast. It wasn't hard to figure out why. Three new chakra signatures appeared in the vicinity and two of them were really strong. Elite jounin. So the Konoha brats got reinforcements. Figures. Just his luck. He was really too old, injured and tired to fight them now.

"_**We should just make ourselves scarce, shouldn't we?" **_the Satori suggested.

"_I agree," _Roushi answered, already starting to run. _"It's a long way back to Iwa." _He sighed when he imagined the reception that was awaiting him there. The Tsuchikage wasn't going to be happy that he had failed the mission and lost two of his elite jounin in the process.

"_**Do we even have to return to Iwa?"**_ Yonbi asked.

"_Well," _Roushi mused, _"that's something worth consideration."_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With the Konoha shinobi~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everybody gathered on a small clearing. Team Gai and Naruto were lying on the ground and the three members of the rescue team were working on them, trying to patch them up to the best of their abilities. Which unfortunately wasn't much.

"Gai-sensei," Neji asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking after my youthful students, of course!" the Green Beast answered. "I'm sorry I left you alone for so long."

"But... how did you find us?" the Hyuuga didn't understand. Why did the jounin appear so suddenly? How did they know where to find them? He had been so sure that they were fated to die.

"We tracked you. The most youthful Inuzuka kunoichi and her companions helped us," the jounin explained.

"But why were you tracking us?" Neji questioned.

"Because you're my precious students! The moment I returned to Konoha and realized you were missing, I wouldn't rest until I found you!" the Green Beast didn't understand how could his student ask such a question. Did he doubt that he would do everything in his power to protect his students? How unyouthful.

"I thought it was our fate to die here," the Hyuuga prodigy said. Even now, he still didn't understand how they were alive. Fate sometimes worked in mysterious ways. His head began to hurt when he tried to comprehend it.

"Don't say such things," Maito Gai scolded him. "It's unyouthful." Neji for once didn't even grimace. "If your Flames of Youth burn high, you can get out of anything!" At that moment, the Hyuuga boy almost believed him.

"Hm, did you say something?" Kakashi asked from behind his orange book.

"My eternal rival! So hip! I'll have to train hard to match his hip attitude!"

"Stop it!" Hana shouted. "Shouldn't you be helping the wounded?" The two jounin looked a bit abashed. "This is no time for reading and fooling around! If you are finished, we should get them back to Konoha quickly. There is only so much I can do for them."

"Will Lee be alright?" Gai asked worriedly.

"That depends on how soon he'd see a real doctor," the vet answered. She didn't know nearly enough about human anatomy to be sure.

The reminder of their situation was enough to make them stop their shenanigans. Soon the group was ready to move, the four children being carried. The journey to Konoha was going to be long.

* * *

And that's it for today.

Next time: The return to Konoha


	49. Assassins

**Author's note: **I'm back from the dead! You lost all hope already, didn't you? Sorry this chapter took over a year to write. I've been really, really stuck and my interest in Naruto fandom waned. But I've rediscovered some of it recently and used it to finish this chapter. I hope the next one won't take another year to complete. I've already began working on it.

I also posted a picture of some of the OCs appearing in this story on my DeviantArt profile. The link is on my author's profile page.

On another note: Since the posting of the last chapter, Kishimoto showed a new map of the shinobi world and now parts of this story are against canon. I should probably do a small rewrite and change the names of some countries, but I don't really feel like it.

Enough rambling, now on to the long-awaited story. (If you didn't give up waiting months ago.)

**A.N.2:** Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors. And the names of countries in this story were changed to fit with the new canon map.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. **If I did, I'd have to complete a new chapter every week and couldn't get away with beina an year too late.

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The journey back seemed endless. Considering they had to carry three wounded, they couldn't go as fast as they wanted to. At least Naruto woke up at noon the next day and while he wasn't completely rested, he could at least move under his own power. But after three days of travel, they finally walked through the gates of Konoha. They rushed to the hospital, leaving the wounded in the care of the medics. They were at first worried about Lee, but then they called Tsunade for assistance and she assured them she was able to fix the boy. It was going to take weeks before he would be able to return to active duty, but he was going to be alright.

Then came the time to report the whole mess to the Hokage. The old man listened solemnly to their words. Then he asked some questions like 'where did the four-tails jinchuuriki ran off?' 'Can you confirm the guy is dead?' 'Did you meet the trader before this mission?' They answered to their best abilities.

"I should have expected something like that to happen," the Sandaime concluded. "We're going to do everything to root out the traitors, but it will take some time. In the meantime, be very careful, all of you, but especially you, Naruto. And you can all take a week off before taking missions again. That's all I wanted to say, so you can go now. I hope the next time we'll meet under better circumstances."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," they answered before leaving the office. Once they were out of the Tower, they bid goodbyes to each other. Everybody wondered when, how and whether they would meet again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hyuuga compound~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hinata sat quietly in the corner, listening to Neji giving report of his latest mission to her father. It was all she could do not to gasp in terror at some of the moments. It was so dangerous! She wondered how her cousin had survived it. Having four enemy ninja, including some jounin after him? That sounded almost like certain death to Hinata's ears. She couldn't imagine herself lasting longer than half an hour in such a situation. And she was supposed to graduate the Academy soon. It was still a couple of months away, but it could as well be tomorrow in Hinata's mind. She couldn't imagine getting good enough in such a short time. Her cousin Neji was a genius, everybody could see that. Even her little sister Hanabi was talented. Hinata glanced to where the younger girl was sitting at their father's side. Aged just five, Hanabi was more of a proper daughter of the Hyuuga Main House than Hinata could ever hope to be. She sat perfectly straight, her face not showing any emotion of Neji's tale. And her training was progressing much faster than Hinata's. Soon, she would surpass Hinata's ability in Juuken.

Hinata had to suppress a sigh as she looked down. Once again she wished she hadn't been born as the oldest child of the clan head. There were so many expectations placed on her position and she could never fulfill them adequately. She could see it in everybody's eyes, especially her father's. It would have been much better if Hanabi had been born first. Hiashi liked Hanabi. She could live up to his expectation. It would have been even better if Neji could have been the heir. Neji was always able to surpass all expectations. But Neji was just a Branch House member, so that was never going to be.

This time she didn't manage to suppress her sigh in time, which earned her a disapproving glance from her father. Hinata looked down. She forced herself to listen more closely to what Neji was saying. It was an almost unbelievable tale, but she didn't doubt her cousin's veracity. So there was a ninja in Konoha who was just as young as her and was already able to go toe-to-toe with jounin. Hinata admired such strength and wished she could sometimes be like him. But she knew that was unrealistic. Neji might become so strong, Hanabi might come close, but she? She would consider a success if she could be mediocre.

And mediocre wasn't enough for the future head of the Hyuuga clan. The Hyuuga Clan Head had to be strong, shining above other ninja and other clan heads. Nothing less was enough for the most noble clan in Konoha. Hinata knew that she was never going to reach such heights. And in a few short months, she was going to graduate the Academy, be placed on a genin team and start doing missions and most likely failing them horribly. If she ever ended up on a mission as dangerous as Neji's was, she was going to end up dead. And then Hanabi could be the heiress and everything would work out alright. Maybe it would be better if she just died.

Would anybody miss her? Certainly not Neji. There was never anything but contempt in his eyes when he looked at her. She knew he was blaming her for his father's death. She did everything in her power to make it up, but it was never enough. It could be never enough.

Would her father miss her? It was obvious that Hiashi preferred Hanabi, but sometimes she thought that her father cared a bit, that there was hope in his eyes that Hinata would suddenly become strong, but Hinata never did and that hope disappeared quickly. Its appearances were also becoming rarer. So her father would get over her death easily too.

And Hanabi? Hanabi once used to be such a sweet little child, always smiling when Hinata played with her, but that had changed not too long after Hanabi had begun her training in the Hyuuga's clan arts. After months of hearing how she was doing well and how Hinata had never been any good at it, Hanabi started sneering at her elder sister. She now thought that she was so much better than Hinata and that associating with such a failure as Hinata would only hinder her progress. And so the two sisters became estranged. So Hanabi wasn't going to miss her too. She'd probably only sneer at her grave and say that she always knew that Hinata wouldn't last.

Hinata hoped that at least her mother would have missed her. Her mother had been always so sweet, loving and caring. But her mother had died shortly after Hanabi had been born. Hinata still missed her dearly.

So who else could miss her? The clan elders? Certainly not. To them, she was the shame of the Hyuuga clan. Some Branch House members? Maybe. Hinata had always been kind to them, more than other Main House members, but she was never sure what it meant to them. So they might miss her some, but they weren't any close. And her classmates? She didn't have any real friends among them. Sometimes, she doubted whether some of them even knew she existed. So they wouldn't miss her too.

It was really very depressing to think about it like that. Hinata tried to find something positive about her life, but she couldn't remember anything. She just watched as Neji concluded his report and Hiashi dismissed him. Then she slipped out of the room too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarutobi looked at the reports on his desk ruefully. All the leads got them nowhere. Though Ibiki had managed to pry the name of his contact from Mizuki, the ANBU couldn't find said contact, so it got them nowhere. And Mizuki knew very little else.

It wasn't a good situation. They knew they had traitors inside Konoha, but they couldn't discern who they were. They knew only that whoever was selling them out was too smart to get caught in the traps the counterintelligence set for them.

The Hokage contemplated whether he should call Jiraiya back. The self-proclaimed super-pervert was good at finding out information that eluded everyone else. But Jiraiya's skill was needed elsewhere. There was no-one else who could find out what their enemies were up to. Just last month he had saved a whole battalion of Konoha forces when he had warned them about a Kumo offensive that would have otherwise caught them unprepared. So no, the Third really couldn't afford to lose this source of information.

But that left him with very little options. He could only continue in what they were doing, give more orders to the intelligence department and the ANBU and hope that the traitor would eventually slip. It wasn't very optimistic. But in a war, few things were.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Streets of Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not long after leaving the Hokage Tower they met Hotaru. The girl was limping, but she looked happy.

"Naruto!" she called when she saw them. "What have you been up to? I've heard you've been fighting some jounin!"

"Huh, rumors really travel fast," Hana muttered.

"That's true," Naruto answered Hotaru's question.

"Why would you do it? It's dangerous," the purple-haired kunoichi said.

"Believe me, I'd rather not do it, but it wasn't like I had a choice," the boy replied.

"Why so serious?" Hotaru raised an eyebrow. "I was joking."

"I'm in no mood for jokes."

"Hm? That's a new one," Hotaru said.

"If you saw the state we found them in you wouldn't feel like laughing too," Hana interjected.

"That bad?"

"Yes." "Worse." Hana and Naruto said simultaneously.

"That sounds like I missed some big action," Hotaru sighed. "Getting wounded really sucks."

"Tell me about it," the Inuzuka said.

"Just get well soon and you can get into some action again," Naruto tried to cheer her up.

"That's easier said than done," Hotaru sighed. "Not everybody heals as fast as you."

"Whatever," Naruto rolled his eyes. "Just heal fast, so we can take missions as a team again, will you? Going alone sucks."

The kunoichi smiled. "Deal."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Life became a routine again. Tenzo returned from the frontlines and they began taking missions together again. It was mostly routine ninja work. They knew they would have to return to the frontlines eventually, but unless the war took a sudden turn for worse (which thankfully didn't happen yet), they had several months of relatively light duty to look forward to. They didn't grumble when they had to guard caravans going at a snail's pace along dusty roads, or spoiled noblemen who complained about their presence as much as they required it. It was also then when they received their first assassination mission.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hot Springs Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The landscape was beautiful. The southern regions of the Land of the Hot Springs were one of the must-see places of the shinobi world. Lush green forests covered sides of numerous cone-shaped mountains. The mountain range reached as far as they could see, disappearing in blue hue on the horizon. Steam from the numerous hot springs that gave this country its name rose to the clear blue sky. Down in the valleys bright green rice grew on fertile fields. It was a paradise to behold.

But beautiful scenery and lush fields weren't everything Hot Springs Country could boast. It had also a good strategic location. Bordering on the Fire Country and having many ports from which ships could sail to Water Country, Lightning Country, Whirlpool Country or anywhere further than that, the country was a trade center for the eastern regions of the Elemental Continent.

This was where Fujita Ukito had his base. Fujita Ukito was a trader like many in this area. He bought whatever was cheap and sold it wherever people were willing to pay the most for it, not caring whether it was legal or not. He had a good idea of what, where and when was going to be in demand so his business was prospering more than most of his competitors. Recently, he had started supplying the Kumo army with Kiri medical herbs and ores for chakra-conducting metal from the Fire Country. Konoha didn't like this one bit and decided to do something about him and simultaneously send a message to all of his colleagues.

And this is where Team Tenzo came in. They got the intel that Fujita was going to be in the village of Toyoake, negotiating a deal on cheap timber and enjoying the local hot springs resort in the meantime.

Toyoake wasn't a big settlement. It wasn't exactly tiny, but there lived just enough people to know each other by sight. And because some of the neighboring villages had better hot springs and/or better view of the mountains, it wasn't a tourist center either. Strangers would be spotted quickly. That made Team Tenzo's job harder. They needed to gather more information on their target in order to formulate a plan of action and they couldn't use the customary method of sending a horde of disguised Naruto clones in. But they didn't mind too much. It added to the challenge. Missions had been boring lately.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Toyoake square~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Near the center of the village square, a young girl was juggling with brightly colored balls. Close to her feet, a boy of perhaps three years was toddling around, holding a wooden bowl and lifting it to the onlookers. Inside lay a handful of coins collected from the spectators. The girl was called Yoriko and she was a travelling performer, showing off her skills with juggling to support her baby brother Haruki after their parents had died and they had to sell their farm to pay for their father's debts in the local sake house. Yoriko looked like she was going to be very sexy one day and Haruki was cuteness personified. They were also both Naruto's clones. When you can't prevent standing out, then stand out in a spectacular way and make everybody notice you as something you are not, that was the tactic Team Tenzo decided to implement. So the two clones now stood at the one location of the village everybody had to pass through sooner or later and looked for any sign of their target.

They didn't have to wait long. There was no sign of Fujita, but two ninja appeared among the audience. Their young age and lack of flak jackets marked them as genin. Their hitai-ate marked them as being from Kumo. And they looked vaguely familiar. Naruto would bet his pay for this mission that they were Fujita's guards. The girl-clone continued juggling as if nothing happened. The toddler-clone weaved between the legs of the crowd to get closer to the two genin, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"I don't see why you are so interested, Ai," the boy just said. "I can juggle better." The kunoichi rolled her eyes.

"That's just like you, Nukui," she sighed. "Always seeing only the superficial. Try thinking for a change."

"Hey!" Nukui scowled. "What do you mean?"

"Think. I think even you can figure it out," Ai suggested.

"You like that cute kid?" the boy tried.

"Of course not," the kunoichi scoffed. "I'm checking out suspicious people."

"What suspicious people?"

"Them," she said, shaking her head in disbelief at her teammate's stupidity.

"Them?" Nukui looked at 'Yoriko.' "They're just kids."

"So are we," Ai pointed out.

"We are ninja!" Nukui protested.

"I know," the girl sighed. "And how do you know she isn't?"

"She's just some street performer."

"She could be undercover," Ai pointed out.

"Nah," Nukui shook his head. "A real ninja could juggle better." Which was exactly the reason why 'Yoriko' didn't juggle better.

"You're probably right, but I had to make sure," Ai sighed. "Let's go back to the Pine Tree." They both turned and left. 'Haruki' couldn't follow them on his short feet without being too obvious about it, but he didn't have to. He now knew which one of the three inns in Toyoake did Fujita lodge in. He reached into his pocket, where a clone of Naruto disguised as a mouse was and dispelled it, informing the original of what he learned. Then he returned back to his 'sister.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Pine Tree Inn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Pine Tree was the biggest of the three inns in Toyoake. It stood close to the village square. It wasn't a new building, but it was in good repair, with fresh paint still shining. It was also clean, with little garbage littering the streets around it. Yet a stray dog was sniffing around it, looking for something to eat anyway. It looked too healthy and well-fed to be living on the streets for too long, so it must have escaped its owner only recently. A guest walking into the inn looked scared of the big animal. The proprietor of the Pine Tree chased it away with a broomstick, but soon after he returned inside, the dog came back as well. He waited.

Two young people arrived at the inn. They were different from the regular visitors. It wasn't just because they were younger, the dog could smell the power on them. Both the boy and the girl. It served as a confirmation that he was waiting at the right place. He waited longer for when the target would appear. It took over an hour before three people finally arrived. Two of them were ninja: one of them obviously very strong. The third wasn't. That was the person he had been waiting for. He sniffed the air, memorizing his scent. He'd need it to determine which room did he lodge in. He would have followed them inside, but the proprietor would just chase him away again and that would draw unwanted attention to him.

He gave the trio a while to reach their chambers. Then he started moving around the building, sniffing the air carefully. There. The scent of the target was strong. So they dwelled on the ground floor, close to the back of the building. That was all he needed to know. With that, one of the Haimaru siblings ran to report to his mistress.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near Toyoake~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Team Tenzo discussed their plan. The three chuunin had to be careful if they wanted to get at a target protected by a jounin without attracting his attention. Though their sensei could have carried the mission on his own, as a former ANBU he was good at such things, he decided to let his students do it on their own to gather experience. He remained on standby, intending to intervene only if something went wrong.

The three chuunin quickly decided that the best way to get around the Kumo jounin was to wait until the target was guarded only by the genin. They spent a whole day following them around, mostly using Naruto's clones disguised as wildlife, only to realize that Fujita was never alone with only the Kumo genin. That was an unpleasant surprise. It was made even more unpleasant by the fact that the trader had concluded his business dealings and planned to leave Toyoake the next day. That put them on a tight schedule. If Fujita's group left, they would have to ambush them on the road and that would mean an all-out battle. That carried a great risk of injuries or even defeat, so the team wanted to avoid it. They had to strike and disappear before the Kumo ninja realized what happened.

They discussed it long and hard and couldn't find any way to eliminate the target without alerting his guards. That meant they needed a good diversion. Fortunately during their stay in Toyoake they spotted something that would do just fine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Pine Tree Inn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nukui was cursing his luck for getting the late night shift. He really wasn't a morning person. And now he had to wake up long before the sky began to lighten and stay awake for the whole day. But he was a proud ninja of Kumogakure and he could deal with such hardships. He could deal with worse. But,he thought as he yawned, it would have been much easier to deal with them if he wasn't so sleepy. He shook his head to clear it. It helped for a bit, but soon his eyes were drooping again. 'I can't fall asleep here,' he thought. He shuddered when he imagined what Kei-sensei would do if he caught him dozing off when he was supposed to be on guard. He could just hear the stern lecture that would precede the real punishment. _Can you imagine what would happen if enemy ninja attacked? _Nukui almost chuckled. What would enemy ninja do here? This place was in the middle of nowhere, very far from where all the action was. And they were just on a C-rank mission anyway. There was no chance of running into opposition with ninja skills. _Though there had been that one time... _he shuddered when he remembered how they failed their first C-rank mission of protecting the wares of a pottery merchant. But that had been a fluke. There was no way there would be a chase going through their room here.

Almost as soon as he thought it, he noticed a strange noise coming from the door. 'Don't tell me...' His sleepiness suddenly gone, he grabbed a kunai in his fist and jumped to his feet. He strained his ears. There was it again! Metal scratching against metal. What was it? Was somebody trying to pick the lock? Probably. Was it an enemy ninja? Nukui's heart beat faster. If there really were ninja here... But no. No ninja would ever make that much noise while trying to get into somebody's room. Even Academy trainees would do better. So it meant that it was just a random burglar. He didn't have to wake up his team, he could deal with it on his own. And in the morning Kei-sensei would praise him for a job well done.

With the thought of future glory firmly in mind, the Kumo genin smiled and walked silently towards the door. There was a faint click indicating that the lock was slowly giving way. Nukui's lips twisted in a cruel smirk. Then he flung the door open.

"Kyaaaaah!" Nukui flinched as the person on the other side of the door screamed at the top of his lungs. After that brief moment of hesitation he wasted no more time and brought his kunai down. It hit the kneeling intruder in the shoulder. He screamed again.

Then suddenly Kei-sensei stood beside him and grabbed the burglar by the throat, finally silencing him. But it was already too late. The racket had roused the whole inn already.

"What's wrong?" Yuu asked, quickly getting out of bed.

"Where's the fire?" Ai inquired.

"Help! I'm going to be murdered!" Fujita-san panicked.

"Don't worry, we'll protect you," the kunoichi assured him, but it didn't have much effect. Their client was still trembling like a leaf.

By that time the doors of other rooms were opening and sleepy lodgers were trying to find out what was going on. Kei told them that nothing, but it didn't sound very convincing considering he was holding a bloody body.

"I'm going to die," Fujita whined. "My heart can't take the shock." He was clutching his chest desperately. Ai thought that he was just being theatrical.

"I'm a doctor," one of the other guests said. "Let me see him." She didn't wait for an answer and pushed by Nukui, Kei and his captive.

"Hey!" Yuu shouted. "We can't let strange people near our client!"

"I'm going to die!" the client whimpered pathetically and gasped for air. At that moment Ai realized that he might be actually having trouble.

"We can't let him die of heart attack either," she pointed out. At that moment it seemed like an entirely real possibility to her.

Kei looked like he wanted to say something to it, but at that moment the burglar began struggling in his grip and one of the onlookers shrieked in terror and another walked up to him and demanded answers (not specifying to what), which distracted him long enough. The medic meanwhile walked over to Fujita and began checking his vitals.

"It's going to be good," she said after a while. "You had a nasty shock, but you are in no danger."

"I still feel bad," the merchant said, but he didn't sound so desperate anymore.

"I can give you something to help you sleep," she offered. Fujita looked grateful.

"Wait," Kei's voice stopped them in their tracks. The jounin had finally convinced the denizens of the Pine Tree Inn that they shouldn't poke their noses in Kumo ninja's business and was free to deal with the client again. "I can't allow you to give our client some unknown substance."

"It's just sedatives," the medic pointed out.

"That's what you say," Kei countered. "Many assassinations were done by false doctors."

"What?" the woman blinked in shock, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"And you," the jounin turned to his students. "Why did you let her near him?"

"He was sick," Ai pointed out. "He needed a doctor."

"And how did you know she's really a doctor?" Kei questioned. "Did it occur to you that she might be an enemy?" Ai looked ashamed. Fujita looked scared and clutched his chest again.

"Such rudeness," the doctor spat. "I'm only trying to help here and this is how you repay me?"

"Sorry," Yuu shrugged and smiled sheepishly. He too thought their sensei was being paranoid, though he understood everything Kei had said.

"Now here are the sleeping pills..." the doctor said, offering them on her open palm.

"No," Kei refused, trying to make up for his earlier lapse in diligence. The medic just shrugged.

"Well, I'll leave them here in case you change your mind," she said, laid the pills on a nightstand and left.

"Well, this was a job well done," Nukui smiled as the door closed behind her.

Inuzuka Hana had to suppress a smile as she stepped over the lifeless carcass of the street thug they had hired to be the diversion. No chance of him telling just who had given him the tip, even if he had seen through their disguise. She felt a pang of guilt for sending him to his death, but he had been an unrepentant criminal with hands stained in blood. The important thing was that their mission had been accomplished. The Kumo ninja might analyze the pills she had offered the target and would find that they were really just regular sleeping pills. The jounin had a good idea, but he had acted too late. The diversion had worked so well that by the time he had realized she might not be who she said, she had already pricked Fujita's skin with a poisoned needle. The fat merchant hadn't even noticed. Now it was just a matter of time before the substance took effect. She would have preferred to stay and make sure, but because the Kumo ninja might catch on, she and her teammates agreed that it would be much better if they were long gone by then.

With that thought she slipped out of the Pine Tree Inn quietly, heading for where her teammates were waiting, ready to back her up in case something went wrong. Soon they left Toyoake behind. They'll confirm Fujita's demise later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Next morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun was already up and they were already packed and ready to set out. But their client was still asleep.

"When is he going to wake up?" Nukui whined. If he didn't get enough sleep that night, he saw no reason why anyone else should.

"He'll wake up when he'll wake up," Ai snapped. "He had a nasty shock, so let him sleep."

"But if he doesn't wake up soon, we won't make it to the next town before evening," Yuu pointed out. He'd much rather sleep in a hotel than on the ground.

"We obey the wishes of our client," Kei reminded them a bit more harshly than the situation warranted. He was getting a bit worried too. Their client was sleeping too long and too deep. In fact...

He quickly strode towards the bed and examined the person lying there. His worst fears were quickly confirmed. Fujita Ukito was dead. He said a word that would make sailors blush. His genin didn't blush only because they had no idea what did it mean, but the tone of his voice informed them that something was very wrong.

"What's wrong?" Yuu asked.

"He's dead," the jounin informed them.

"It was the doctor!" Nukui exclaimed.

"We should have given him the pills!" Ai wailed. "Now his heart gave out!"

"We failed another mission," Yuu stated flatly. That stopped his teammates dead in their tracks.

"Not again," Nukui groaned.

"We have to catch his assassin!" Ai suggested, abandoning the theory of natural causes of death.

"Maybe he really died of heart attack," Kei said. He couldn't see any signs of poison on the corpse, but that could mean only that the poison used was one only a medical specialist would recognize and Kei wasn't one of those. And at first glance, everything did seem perfectly natural. He wasn't convinced about this theory, but he knew that trying to catch a probably high-level enemy ninja while dragging three clumsy genin behind him was a lost cause. There was really nothing left to do than return to Kumo and report a mission failed. Again. He sighed. He so wasn't looking forward to this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mission room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took several months before Team Tenzo was assigned a noteworthy mission again. At first, it didn't look as such. All four members of Team Tenzo were standing in the Mission room, waiting for the chuunin on duty to assign them one of the scrolls and whatever mission was described inside. The chuunin leafed through the mission requests idly before picking one scroll and handing it to Tenzo. Naruto noticed that it was labeled B. Tenzo unrolled it and scanned over its contents.

"So what is it?" Hotaru asked impatiently.

"We're going to search for a genin team that didn't report back from their mission," the jounin informed them. Naruto, knowing him as long as he did, noticed a slight flinch.

"What is it?" he asked. Instead of an answer, the former ANBU handed the scroll to Hana. The Inuzuka heiress read a few lines before gasping in shock.

"What's wrong?" Hotaru inquired.

"It's my brother's team."

* * *

Evil cliffhanger no jutsu.

Next time: What happened to Team 8?


	50. Searching

**Author's note:** Another chapter finally here. I apologize for the Evil Cliffhanger no Jutsu at the end of the last one. At least I didn't keep you waiting for too long. And next teo chapters are in the works already, so it shouldn't take too long to complete and publish them.

For those of you who hadn't noticed yet, I've reposted the whole story with less grammar and spelling errors. I also changed some of the geography to fit the latest official world map of the Elemental Countries. So what originally was Claw Country is now Frost Country and Fang Country is Hot Springs Country. Otherwise there's no major change.

Enough rambling, now on to the story.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. And this is the fiftieth time already I had to say it. I'm really getting tired of repeating it over and over again.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha gates~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana was marching back and forth, waiting impatiently for whenever her slowpoke teammates would finally bother to show up. Her dogs picked up on her mood and growled and snarled at everybody who came nearby. Finally after what felt like several hours to her they arrived.

"What took you so long?" she barked.

"We're early," Hotaru answered. "What's your problem?"

"You're too slow," the Inuzuka insisted.

"Don't be impatient, Hana," Tenzo chastised her. "We said to meet in an hour and it hadn't passed yet. I know it's your brother in danger, but being rash and irrational won't help him."

"That's easy to say for you," Hana grumbled. "It isn't your brother who might be even now being tortured and killed by enemy ninja."

"Don't be so dramatic," the purple-haired kunoichi tried to calm her down. "Considering where they were headed, the chance of encountering the enemy is low."

"But it isn't zero," the dog mistress insisted. "They went northeast, that's towards the battlefields."

"But they stayed close to Konoha," Tenzo reminded her. "That area is regularly patrolled, so it's safe."

"But something happened to them," the Inuzuka pointed out. "They wouldn't just get lost on a simple search and rescue mission."

"Maybe they need rescuing from whatever happened to the original travelers," Naruto suggested.

"Stop the joking, Tiny," Hana glared at her youngest teammate.

"They're ninja," Hotaru pointed out. "They should be able to take care of themselves."

"But a lot of things can go wrong," the Inuzuka reminded them. "Remember what happened on our first search and rescue mission together."

Naruto winced when he remembered his fall. His first C-rank sure wasn't a high point of his ninja career.

"Maybe they just got delayed and we're worrying over nothing," Hotaru tried to ease their worries.

"Maybe," Hana sighed. "Or maybe they're in real trouble."

"This conversation isn't going to solve anything," the jounin stated. "We won't find out until we get there."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

The team headed out, with Hana setting a fast pace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Underground prison~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hinata sat on the ground quietly. It wasn't like she could do anything else, considering that she was bound. She had tried to undo the knots, but after several hours of useless fumbling she concluded that whoever had bound her had really known what they were doing. The ropes didn't give a bit. Or maybe she was just so bad at escape techniques. Though she had done well at the Academy, it obviously wasn't good enough for real life. She was just a failure. Maybe if she wasn't, they wouldn't be in this situation now. She closed her eyes, remembering how did she end up in her current predicament.

She had been happy when she had graduated from the Academy. Not that she had been really looking forward to being a ninja, but because she had feared the consequences of failure more. So this way her father hadn't chastised her much, only pointing out that her scores and class ranking should have been much better. Hinata had accepted his critique quietly.

Then she was assigned to a team. She was happy with her teammates. Aburame Shino was quiet, which suited her just fine. He was also strong and smart, which gave her confidence that her team would do well. She wasn't even freaked out by his bugs. Much. She was still getting used to them. Inuzuka Kiba was his exact opposite. Loud and boisterous, but a really nice guy underneath. And he was a decent ninja too. And she really liked their jounin sensei. She had met Yuuhi Kurenai before and the woman had always been nice to her. She was even so nice that she had asked her father whether he was okay with sending the clan heiress into the field, especially now, during wartime. Overhearing his answer hadn't been so nice. Hinata grimaced when she remembered it. Hiashi had never before said that he didn't care whether she lived or died in so many words.

And then came their first C-rank mission. She had been so scared, but Kurenai-sensei had assured them that they wouldn't be doing any fighting. They weren't even going anywhere near the frontlines. They were just supposed to search for a group of travelers who got lost in the woods. As a specialized tracker team, they should have no problem with it.

At least that was the theory. The reality had been quite different. At first everything had seemed alright. They had consulted their clients in the village and found the trail easily using their directions and followed it into the wilderness. It was so obvious that they could follow it with their eyes closed. Then they were attacked. Hinata didn't understand how they could have been blindsided so completely. They had the Kikaichuu bugs, an Inuzuka dog and her Byakugan to warn them about danger. Yet they had no clue that the enemy had been lying in wait until the trap was sprung. Hinata couldn't help but consider it her failure. If she had used her Byakugan, which she didn't because she had been too tired and had to conserve her chakra, they wouldn't have walked into the ambush. If she hadn't been so weak that she couldn't even use her only asset, her teammates wouldn't have been defeated and captured.

The sound of a door opening brought her out of her musings. She raised her head to see two people approaching her cell. First was a blue-haired woman in a green kimono adorned with camellias. She carried herself confidently, with an air of authority. Hinata concluded that she must be somebody important, maybe even the commander of this base.

But it was the man walking behind her that made her breath catch in her throat. He didn't look particularly intimidating, despite the fact that he was obviously a powerful ninja. But with his light hair, dark eyes and slight smile he looked like an easygoing person. It was the flak jacket and hitai-ate he was wearing that made Hinata's blood run cold. She'd recognize them anywhere. Kumo.

"So that's her?" he asked, studying her intently.

"Yes," the woman answered. "A main family Hyuuga, just as we promised. Now it's your turn to deliver your part of the bargain, Shii."

"Don't worry, Guren-san," Shii answered. "Kumo stands true to its word."

"You'd better do," Guren replied. "If you didn't, Orochimaru-sama would find some use for her."

"I said you don't have to worry. Raikage-sama would personally see to it that you get your payment. He'll be pleased with your work."

"He'd better be. I lost some good men there."

Then the duo left and Hinata remained alone in her cell with her fear. Her worst nightmare had just come true. She was going to be sent to Kumo to have her eyes taken and be forced to bear children for them for the rest of her life. She had been explained what was in store for her in case of captivity shortly after the last time Kumo had attempted to kidnap her. Back then her father had saved her. Now she didn't count on it. He didn't care about her, though he probably cared about the Byakugan falling into the enemy hands. But she didn't count on being rescued anyway.

She sighed. It was all in vain. She was going to be taken to Kumo. Uncle Hizashi's death would become meaningless. She could barely remember him anymore, but she knew he had been a great man. His sacrifice should have meaning, but it wouldn't because of her. Because she had been weak enough to get captured. And because of her the whole Team 8 had been targeted and now they were in captivity too. They weren't meant to be sent to Kumo, at least the Cloud ninja didn't show any interest in them, so they were probably going to stay in Orochimaru's care. That was probably even worse. She had heard horror stories about the Snake Sannin's research. And now her teammates would become his new victims and it was all her fault.

She couldn't take it anymore. She slumped to the ground and cried.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Wilderness~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The trail was old and faint. They had found it easily enough after consulting the villagers and Team Eight's original clients, but they had learned only that the genin team had been there and left after the missing travelers. But that was the moment the mission stopped being easy. The trail was barely there. Yesterday's rain had almost washed it away. But there was still enough left of it for the keen noses of the Inuzuka hounds to follow it. Yet despite the best efforts of the Haimaru triplets they were going slow, having to backtrack several times when the trail disappeared for a hundred paces and they had to search to pick it up again. And the trail was getting fainter and fainter as the time since Team 8 had passed through here increased.

Hana squashed her urge to panic. The thought that if they wouldn't make some sort of breakthrough soon, they'd lose the last traces of her brother was just too terrible to bear. Yet no matter what she did to keep calm, she couldn't help imagining that the next time they'd lose the trail they won't be able to find it again. It was getting harder and harder every time.

She almost screamed in frustration as the Haimaru lifted their noses from the ground, suggesting that they'd lost the scent once again. But then she realized that they were sniffing something. What was it? She sniffled the air too. Her nose was almost as good as her dogs' so she caught a very faint scent. What was it? It was familiar, but she couldn't tell more. Then the wind blew and carried more of the scent. Now it was strong enough to recognize it, though just barely. She laughed while her canine partners barked happily and then all four of them ran towards the source of the scent.

"What did you find?" Hotaru shouted after them. Hana didn't answer. She was too busy racing forward. Her teammates just sighed and chased after them.

Soon she could hear it as well as smell it. Quiet barking and whining. Finding its source didn't take long after that. There under a bush laid a small white puppy.

"Akamaru!" she exclaimed. "Where's Kiba?" The dog whined in answer. "You don't know?" she asked in dismay. She had hoped she'd find her brother close to her dog, but it seemed that it wasn't going to be. Then the puppy filled her in on all he knew. Unfortunately it wasn't much. "Is that all?" she demanded. Akamaru whined in shame. The puppy eyes he gave her made her realize just how young he was.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Are you hurt?" Then she realized how stupid the question was and immediately activated her medical jutsu.

By that time the rest of her team arrived.

"What's going on?" Tenzo demanded.

"Puppy!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Quiet," Hotaru chastised him.

"That's Akamaru," Hana introduced him. "He's Kiba's partner."

"So where's Kiba?"

"Akamaru doesn't know," the brown-haired kunoichi sighed. "They'd been following the trail without trouble when they were suddenly attacked. There was no warning. Akamaru was kicked at the beginning of the fight so he doesn't know what happened after then. Just that when he woke up everybody was gone and when he tried to follow the trail, he lost it."

"Who attacked them?" Tenzo inquired.

"Akamaru doesn't know either," the dog mistress sighed.

"Aren't Inuzuka dogs supposed to be smart?" Hotaru questioned.

"Akamaru is just a baby," Hana explained. "He shouldn't be used in the field yet. But he's Kiba's partner and they were partnered just as the war started. There was no helping it."

"So what are we going to do now?"

"Now Akamaru will take us to the site of the ambush."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Underground prison~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was tied up and locked inside a cell, but he wasn't helpless. His captors hadn't sealed his chakra and even if they had, they couldn't remove his kikaichuu. No Aburame was truly defenseless as long as he had his bugs. It was a fact Shino meant to take full advantage of.

He knew he had to be very careful. If their captors realized what he was doing, they would make sure to prevent him from trying it again. They might even kill him. And Shino didn't want to die. Though maybe compared to what he had heard could happen to captives during wartime quick death didn't sound so bad. But if he was dead, he couldn't help his comrades. Though they hadn't been a team for a long time, they had been classmates for years and he really cared about them.

But getting emotional was pointless. Shino knew he had to keep a level head if he wanted to get out of here. Being always calm and logical was crucial, such was the philosophy of the Aburame clan. Unfortunately logic was telling him that their chances of getting out of here were negligible. His teammates were bound and locked up inside cells too. That rendered them helpless. He had no idea what had happened to Kurenai-sensei. He hadn't seen the jounin since the battle and had no idea whether she was alive or dead. They were vastly outnumbered by superior enemies and they couldn't count on being rescued either, their attackers were very adept at covering their tracks, as proven by their successful ambush.

Shino forbade himself such thoughts and concentrated on calming down his restless hive. It wouldn't do if the kikaichuu's buzzing gave his advantage away. During the battle he had been knocked out so fast he had no opportunity to use them, so it was quite possible that their captors didn't realize he had them. He had to keep calm and find a way to gain at least something from this unfavorable situation. But what? He didn't know.

'When you don't know, gather more information,' a memory of his father's lecture advised him. Shino decided that it was a good advice. He needed to find out more. And finding out information was exactly what the kikaichuu were good at. He'd just have to be careful that no-one would spot them. If he managed to place some on the guards, they would take them all around the base. If they were lucky, some of the bugs might even get out. And if they were found by another member of the Aburame clan, they would relay their findings to them, thus enabling Konoha to deal with this threat.

Yes, that sounded like a plan. With that thought Shino concentrated on implementing it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ambush site~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One look was all Team Tenzo needed to tell that a battle had taken place here. Though somebody had taken the care to collect all the used kunai and shuriken, the telltale holes in the surrounding trees remained. There also was a large chunk of the soil overturned probably by a Doton jutsu. And then there was a stain on the grass that looked like blood.

"Whoof!" Akamaru barked.

"He says it happened here," Hana translated, as if her teammates couldn't see.

"There are no bodies," Hotaru observed.

"Hopefully they're still alive," Naruto speculated.

"Or they just took their bodies for examination," Tenzo outlined another possibility. The change in Hana's demeanor was immediate.

"You really didn't have to say that," Naruto muttered.

"I did," the jounin disagreed. "A ninja has to keep a realistic outlook on the situation during a mission. Clinging to false hopes would only get us in trouble."

"Kiba is still alive," the Inuzuka growled.

"You can't be certain," Tenzo countered.

"I am," the kunoichi said at the same time as Akamaru barked. "You hear this? Akamaru would know if Kiba was dead."

"How?"

"This is how it is between us and our dogs. Akamaru would have known if Kiba had died."

"I hope it isn't just your wishful thinking," the former ANBU muttered.

"It is not," Hana assured him.

After that they proceeded to comb the area for clues.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Underground base~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"When do you plan to leave?" Guren asked her companion.

"Tomorrow," Shii answered.

"Why not today?" the woman inquired. While the Kumo group had behaved themselves for the two weeks they had spent here, she didn't like having foreign ninja in a facility that belonged to her master. The possibility of some treachery was always there.

"Our forces will provide a distraction so we can slip through Konoha's lines unhindered," the Cloud jounin explained.

"The area around this base is clean," Guren informed him. "Our scouting team confirmed it."

"But did they confirm that the whole road to Kumo is clear?" Shii countered.

"You should be able to avoid some Konoha patrols," Guren said dismissively, brushing her kimono absent-mindedly. Something stuck to her fingers. She almost threw it away, but out of some curiosity she looked at whatever had dared to stain her clothes. It was a bug. She narrowed her eyes. A bug here wasn't good. There weren't many experiments going on inside this base, but that didn't mean that those that were weren't important (at least in her mind). And if a bug could get here, who knows what else could contaminate them. Orochimaru-sama would be very displeased if his research got ruined or just delayed. And she lived for Orochimaru-sama's pleasure.

She took a closer look at the insect. It looked a bit familiar. Maybe she had studied a bit about it. But she wasn't an entomologist. But in the end the species of the bug wasn't important. She'd just squash it and have the base disinfected. Then everything will be alright again.

"Is that a kikaichuu?" Shii asked worriedly.

"What?" Guren snapped.

"It looks like the bugs the Aburame clan of Konoha use," the Kumo jounin explained. "I've fought them before so I know."

"Damn it," the Oto kunoichi swore, thinking about the implications. "Did they find us?"

"And you assured me the area around the base is clean," Shii said in an accusatory tone.

Guren understood his annoyance. If Konoha discovered them, it would be bad. But maybe... she narrowed her eyes. She had paid little attention to the captives aside the Hyuuga, but now that she thought about it, there was one boy...

She headed towards the prison cells without a word.

"Where are you going?" Shii questioned.

"To check something," she answered curtly. The Cloud shinobi just sighed and followed her. Soon they reached the underground cells. Guren threw the door open, not caring about the startled exclamations of the guards. Then she marched towards the cell holding the genin with high-collared coat and dark glasses. She threw its door open too and lifted the boy from the ground before unzipping his coat. Sure enough the insects crawling all over his body were revealed.

"So you are an Aburame," she spat. Shino paled. He realized that the game was up. He didn't know what she was going to do to him, but he knew it wasn't going to be pleasant. But he had no intention to just sit down and take it. He commanded his hive to attack.

Guren suddenly found herself covered in bugs. It was gross. She screamed. Then the kikaichuu began biting her and draining her chakra. That helped her get over her disgust. She concentrated her chakra and turned everything touching her into crystal. The Aburame insects were encased in small purple stones and fell to the ground where they shattered. Shino watched it in dismay. That had been a large part of his hive that had just died.

Guren stood up and walked out of the cell. "Stun him and seal his chakra," she commanded. "And don't let him regain consciousness again. We don't want him to repeat this trick again." The guards hurried to obey her.

"It was just a little kid trying his stupid tricks," she stated.

"It seems so," Shii replied, but he didn't sound completely assured.

"Do you still want to leave tomorrow?"

"Yes," he sighed. He didn't like staying in a location that might be compromised, but unfortunately the decision wasn't his. "We have to wait for the diversion group."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The forest~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had examined the ambush site thoroughly. They got whatever information they could out of it. Unfortunately that wasn't much. The battle had been short and very few techniques were used. And those the team could identify weren't specific to any village nor any clan. The attackers could have been from anywhere. But it wasn't a complete waste of time. The Haimaru triplets had picked up some faint scents that belonged to the attackers. They also found a trail leading away from the scene. They followed it as far as they could, but it disappeared after a while.

"Why did they have to remember to wipe their tracks now?" Hana whined. She was about ready to tear her hair out in frustration. Akamaru howled mournfully in her arms. She patted his back absent-mindedly.

"It would be too easy if they didn't remember at all," Naruto replied.

"Enough with your stupid jokes, Tiny," the dog mistress barked.

"Hey, I wasn't even joking!" the boy defended.

"Enough with the bickering," Tenzo chastised them. "We have a trail to find."

"Yes, let's go," Hana agreed, urging her dogs forward.

"We don't know if they went there," the jounin pointed out. The Inuzuka paused. She nearly kicked herself for falling for the oldest trick in the book when it came to confusing potential pursuers. It was very likely that the attackers had changed directions the moment they had wiped the trail. It was a trick an Academy student could fall for, but a seasoned chuunin like her really shouldn't.

"You're right," she sighed, all the time cursing her stupidity. She really had to get a grip. She won't be any help to Kiba in her current state and she might even waste their only chance to find her brother and his team.

"We'll fan out and look for clues," Tenzo decided. The three chuunin nodded.

They searched for a long time. Everybody was doing their best to spot any trace of a group of shinobi passing there. Naruto found a broken twig, but closer examination revealed that it had been stepped on by a deer, not a human. Hotaru had found some suspicious scratches on a tree trunk, but that too turned out to be the work of a deer. It made Naruto speculate whether there was a conspiracy of deer trying to make their job harder, which caused Hana to snap at him and Tenzo had to play peacemaker.

Finally it was Hana who actually found something useful. When she announced she had found a bug, her teammates were ready to call it another false alarm. But the dog mistress was sure that this time she had a real clue.

"It's a kikaichuu," she explained, showing the insect to the rest of her team.

"You can tell?" Hotaru questioned. "Bugs look all the same to me."

"I'm positive. The Inuzuka clan often cooperates with the Aburame, so I've seen them before plenty of times."

"It is indeed an Aburame bug," Tenzo confirmed. "But it looks weak, as if it hasn't fed on chakra for a long time."

"You're right," Hana agreed. She knew enough about animals to be able to tell when they were starved or distraught. "It must be Kiba's teammate's, Shino's."

"That's just speculation," Hotaru pointed out.

"How many Aburame do you think are around here?" Naruto asked.

"It's the best guess we have," Tenzo said.

"It keeps crawling that way," Hana pointed after observing the kikaichuu's behavior for a while. "Either it senses something interesting or it wants us to go there."

"Just how smart is one bug?" Naruto questioned.

"I don't know," Hana shrugged.

"It's the only clue we have," Tenzo summed up their situation.

"Then we have to follow it." They took off where the bug led them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Prison cell~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kiba was feeling useless. When they had been first assigned this mission, he had been happy because it had looked like his opportunity to shine. Tracking was his clan's specialty. So after they talked with the clients in the village, they picked the trail easily. He and Akamaru took point and led their teammates to what he thought would be their first success.

Oh, how wrong he had been. The noses he and Akamaru were so proud of proved to be absolutely useless. There had been no warning before the trap sprung. One moment they were following the clear trail and the next there were enemy ninja raining from the trees. Akamaru growled and bit one man in the leg. The man just yelled angrily and kicked the puppy so hard he flew into a nearby tree, where he slumped down. That made Kiba snap. He attacked the man with a Tsuuga so fast he forgot to perform the Beast Imitation technique first. It was completely useless. The Sound ninja dodged and then Kiba had only a faint recollection of sharp pain in his cranium.

He awoke inside a cell, his arms and legs bound. He could see Hinata in the cell across his and he could hear Shino in the one next to his. He had no idea where Kurenai-sensei was. He hoped she wasn't dead. He hoped Akamaru wasn't dead. But considering the last sight he had of him that was a definite possibility. But he would have known if his partner was dead, wouldn't he? He wasn't so sure.

Another thing that bothered him was how helpless he was. Shino at least had tried something, even if it failed in the end. But he could only lie down helplessly. Maybe he could try chewing through his bonds when the guards weren't looking? It sounded like a stupid idea even to him, the ropes looked strong and he couldn't reach them with his teeth well, but at least it would give him something to occupy his time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Outside the base~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It looks like it's here," Hana said. The behavior of the kikaichuu bug suggested that they had reached their destination. Akamaru barked and sniffer around.

"I can't see anything," Naruto stated looking at the surrounding foliage.

"Of course it's camouflaged," Hotaru said.

"I know that," the boy replied. Considering how well the culprits had erased their trail, it was obvious that they would conceal their hideout as well. "But that doesn't help us if we can't find the entrance."

"It should be right here," the Inuzuka said after observing the bug some more.

"Right here, but where?" Naruto muttered looking around.

Tenzo meanwhile examined the ground around them. He used his Mokuton techniques to scan underground. If he concentrated, he could feel the roots underground and make them move. It didn't take him long to determine that there was an area they couldn't reach.

"We're standing on it," he announced.

"What?" Naruto and Hotaru exclaimed in unison, looking under their feet. All they could see was a perfectly ordinary patch of grass.

"That's some good camouflage," Hana remarked, impressed despite herself.

"It is," the jounin agreed.

"Let's go inside," the Inuzuka said. Akamaru in her arms barked sharply in agreement.

"Should we really?" Hotaru wondered. "We don't know ho many enemies are inside. And it's probably trapped."

Akamaru yapped furiously. Hana scratched his back.

"We're not leaving Kiba there," she declared forcefully.

"While it would be better if there were more of us, Konoha's short on manpower so we can't call for reinforcements," Tenzo analyzed the situation. "We have to manage."

"Alright," Hotaru sighed. "But I still wish we had backup."

"We'll manage," Naruto reassured her.

"Now step back," Tenzo ordered. The three chuunin did so. Tenzo made a few handseals and removed the soil from the entrance with an Earth jutsu. A reinforced door was revealed.

"How are we going to get in?"

"Blow it up," Hana suggested.

"That could collapse the corridor," Hotaru pointed out.

"Dou you have a better idea?" the dog mistress inquired.

"Pick the lock," the purple-haired kunoichi suggested.

"It's probably trapped," Tenzo said.

"Speaking of which, why didn't we see any traps earlier?" Naruto questioned.

"These people are pretending they aren't even here," the jounin analyzed the situation. "If somebody accidentally sprung a trap in this area, a thorough search would follow and they don't want that so they banked on stealth instead. We had trouble finding the entrance even when we knew where it was."

"That's true," Hana agreed. "So how are we going to go about the door?"

"Fast," Hotaru answered. "They must know we're here now."

"Maybe they'll come out to attack us," Naruto mused.

"Or maybe they'll run through a back door and we won't see them ever again," the Uzuki girl supplied.

"We're blowing the door up now!" Hana growled. She already reached into her pocket for Exploding Tags.

"Wait!" Tenzo stopped her before she could use them. "If the entrance collapses, we won't get inside."

"We can't just stand here!" the Inuzuka insisted. The thought of having her brother so close now yet being unable to help him was driving her mad.

"I think I can destroy the lock with the Rasengan," Naruto said after studying the door for a while.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Hana barked.

"Try it," Tenzo said. Naruto nodded and formed the spinning ball of chakra in his right palm. Doing it with only one hand wasn't a problem for him anymore. Well, most of the time. And this time he could concentrate in peace, so the chakra sphere that slammed into the lock was almost perfect. It took just a few seconds before the lock gave and the door swung open.

"We're in!" the boy cheered. Hana almost charged inside, but Tenzo stopped her.

"No recklessness," he chastised her. "We're doing this like seasoned ninja, not Academy students." The Inuzuka didn't like it, but she understood why caution was important.

"Stay here and hide," she ordered Akamaru, who was growling at the dark tunnel, trying to look tough. The puppy looked like he wanted to argue, but then he crawled into the bushes.

Then the team slowly entered the enemy hideout.

* * *

And that's it for today. Not so evil cliffhanger no jutsu.

Next time: What will Team Tenzo encounter inside Orochimaru's base?


	51. Into the base

**Author's note:** I forgot to say it the last time: Thank you all for over 900 reviews. How long before we make it to 1000?

Also on a sadder note: my laptop died recently and took a big chunk of chapter 53 to its grave. I'm so glad I uploaded the completed chapters right before it did so I didn't lose all my work. No I'm waiting whether the data will be recovered or whether I'll have to rewrite it. Though maybe I should rewrite it anyway, it wasn't my best work.

On a happier note: I drew a new illustration for this story. You can find it on my DeviantArt profile. Link in my Author's profile page.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Some guy from Japan does.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Base command center~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Guren-sama! Guren-sama!" the Oto chuunin shouted as he ran through the door.

"What is it?" she barked as she lifted her head from the scroll she had been studying.

"Intruders!" he shouted breathlessly. "They broke through the southern entrance."

"What?" She jumped to her feet. This wasn't good. And just when she thought that everything was going fine. "Where? How many?"

"South entrance," the chuunin reported. "It's one team."

"Who are they?"

"Konoha, probably."

Guren swore. So the blasted tree-huggers had found them. One team wasn't much, but it was still one team too many. If by some miracle they managed to rescue the captives, the deal with Kumo would be off and Orochimaru would be displeased with her. Scratch it, he was going to be displeased anyway. This base was compromised and would have to be scrapped, including everything inside. But maybe she could get Orochimaru into a more pleasant mood if the attacking team that shouldn't be too hard to defeat would provide some interesting research material. And then an idea hit her. Yes, if she could pull it off, Orochimaru-sama would praise her.

"Send our forces to stop them," she commanded. "And call the Curse Seal squad to me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Base entrance~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto's clones took the point. They walked through the corridor carefully, alert for any possible trap. So far there was none. It was suspicious. Why wasn't there at least a guard at the entrance? Were their enemies really so careless or was there an ambush waiting inside?

Then suddenly the corridor opened into a large underground room. The moment the clones walked inside, they were hit by a rain of senbon. Only one managed to dodge, but he was immediately dispelled by a blast of chakra-charged sound.

The initial exchange let the Konoha team know where their enemies were hiding.

"Gatsuuga!" Hana shouted as she and the Haimaru triplets charged at the pair of ninja who had thrown the senbon. Naruto fired an Air Bullet at the sound user. Tenzo quickly used the Tree-binding technique on the one ninja who had dodged the Inuzuka's charge. Hotaru spotted another enemy preparing to attack and cast a genjutsu on him, which made him think that there were spiders crawling all over him. Even as he screamed in disgust and tried to brush off the nonexistent arachnids she hit him with a kunai to the neck. Then the battle started in earnest.

The Konoha team noted the headbands of their opponents. Oto. So they were Orochimaru's people. It was really worrying that the traitor could build a base so close to Konoha without anybody being the wiser. The security around these parts must have been slipping. But they couldn't ponder about it for long. Soon more enemies poured into the room and they were too busy fighting to concentrate on anything else.

The team tried to stay together as a unit, but it worked only for so long. Then a monster resembling a horned bipedal lizard rushed into the room and jumped right in the middle of them. The team scattered to avoid it. Then they were immediately attacked by the Sound ninja and separated further.

Naruto quickly created a dozen Kage Bunshin and sent them to attack. Unfortunately they were almost immediately dispelled by a high-pressure air blast from one of the Sound ninja. The technique hit even Naruto and made him stumble. The only good thing about it was that the attacker had downed one of his comrades as well.

Naruto quickly recovered and threw a kunai with an Exploding Tag at the man. Before it hit he was attacked by an Oto kunoichi. She was good. She managed to kick his feet from under him and then knelt on him, pinning him down as he fell. Unfortunately for her she had never before encountered a skilled Wind specialist. Naruto just concentrated Wind chakra to his forearms, cutting her hands. She let go of them with a startled yell. The boy then fully activated the Whirlwind Fist and punched her in the stomach. His fist drilled through her shirt and skin easily. She collapsed down, out of the fight.

Naruto jumped up and barely dodged a tackle from a heavy-set man. That brought him straight into the path of a pair of shuriken, fortunately both of them were stopped by his flak jacket. He turned towards the person who had thrown them just to see him unleashing another bunch of throwing stars. Naruto quickly flashed through seals.

"Fuuton: Repusshou!" The pressured air knocked the projectiles away and ruffled the thrower's hair. Just when Naruto was about to follow up with another attack, he heard the heavy footsteps of the big man rushing to attack him again. He turned around to deal with it. He didn't need to. The man was suddenly blown away by an Exploding Note that had been stuck to his back. Naruto blinked in surprise. Who had done it?

His question was answered shortly because as the corpse fell, it revealed Hana standing behind it.

"You're alright?" the kunoichi asked.

"Yes," Naruto answered throwing a kunai at a Sound ninja's unprotected back.

"We have to regroup," the Inuzuka stated.

"Easier said than done," the boy grimaced, pointing at the many enemies separating them from the rest of their team. And considering that Tenzo had his hands full with the Curse Seal lizard-beast and Hotaru was fending off two enemies at once, it was unlikely that their teammates would reach them.

"We can't stay like this," the girl pointed out. Naruto nodded. In the big hall the Oto shinobi could use their numbers to their advantage. He looked around for a way to change it. And spotted it almost immediately.

"Into the tunnel!" he shouted. Hana nodded. Setting up defense in the narrow corridor seemed like their best option. They quickly dashed into the hallway.

Their first clue that it maybe wasn't a good idea was when the Oto shinobi didn't pursue them. The two Konoha chuunin stopped and turned around, expecting some kind of attack. It came from a completely different direction than they were prepared for. The floor under their feet suddenly opened and they found themselves falling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Base entrance hall~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotaru was on the defensive. It was a position she didn't like being in, but it wasn't like she had a choice. She was fighting two opponents at once and neither of them was a slouch. It was all she could do to fend off their attacks. And she could see two more Sound ninja running towards her. It wasn't good. If they reached when she was tied up fighting her two current opponents, they'd kill them easily.

She jumped back to gain some distance. It didn't work as well as she hoped it would. One of the ninja followed her. The other stayed behind and clasped his hands together in a series of handseals. But it was better than nothing. Now Hotaru didn't have to concentrate on defense so much, she had the time to charge her kodachi with Lightning chakra and then release it in one strong pulse. Her opponent screamed as she electrocuted him. She gave him no time to recover and promptly stabbed her sword into his chest.

One enemy dealt with, she turned towards the two approaching her. She tightened the grip on her sword handle as she realized they were almost upon her. Then a jet of water slammed into her, cast by one of her original opponents she had almost forgotten about.

Hotaru landed hard on the ground near one of the tunnel entrances. She picked herself up, meaning to sneak through the battlefield back to Tenzo and guard his back. But just as she got to her feet, she saw two Oto shinobi, probably of jounin rank, running towards her. One of them was performing handseals. Hotaru had no idea what kind of jutsu he wanted to cast, but she had no intention to find out the hard way. She ducked into the tunnel. She was just in time to avoid being hit with a cloud of greyish-green something. She'd bet a C-rank pay that it was poison.

'I can't get through that,' she thought. Then she spotted a dark shape inside the cloud, suggesting that at least the caster could move inside. And the greenish mist was slowly gloating towards her. Hotaru took a few steps back and reached into her pouch for a kunai with an Explosive Note. She threw it just as the enemy ninja was coming out of the cloud. He batted the projectile aside, but he failed to deactivate the tag. It went off right behind his back. He was thrown forward, where Hotaru quickly finished him off with a swipe of her kodachi.

Unfortunately the Sound shinobi wasn't the only casualty of the blast. The entrance of the tunnel collapsed. Hotaru looked in dismay at the colorful rubble. There was no way she'd be getting through there to rejoin her team now. 'Who builds such a shoddy base?' she thought. 'What is that stuff anyway? Glass?' She decided that it didn't matter. She'd just have to remember to be extra cautious not to bring the ceiling down on her head. The question was what she should do now. The answer wasn't difficult. If she couldn't go back, she had to head forward. There will be enough enemies for her to fight no matter where she went. With that thought she started down the corridor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back in the entrance hall~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo sighed in relief as the wooden beams snapped the monster-lizard's neck and it reverted into an Oto kunoichi. This had been harder than it should have been. Not only was the Curse Seal warrior tough, but she wasn't alone. Killing her while dodging the attacks of her comrades was pushing his abilities, but he somehow managed.

But now he wasn't so preoccupied fighting, he noticed that he was alone in the room. Well, not counting the enemies. There were four Sound ninja in fighting condition. But they weren't much of a threat, as neither of them was jounin level. The former ANBU could deal with them easily.

The problem was that all of his students were missing. He had lost track of them during the battle and now he had no idea what had happened to them. Had they been killed? He couldn't see their bodies anywhere and he doubted the Oto ninja would bother to drag them away while the battle was still underway. That meant that his students had left the room on their own volition. But where did they go? There were four tunnels they could have taken.

Tenzo quickly took out the remaining enemies and then explored the surroundings a bit. He found out that one of the corridors had partially caved in and another contained a pit trap. That was probably how his students had left the room. He could follow them, but they were all accomplished ninja. He was almost sure that they'd be able to deal with whatever the denizens of this base might throw at them. And the fact that they had separated meant that they could search this underground lair faster. With that thought he headed for one of the remaining tunnels.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Base command center~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shii brought the whole Kumo squad when he stormed into the command center. Guren wondered whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. She eventually decided that it was good.

"It looks like your base wasn't as well hidden as you assured us," he accused.

"It's just a small problem," she said dismissively. "Just one team. Our forces are going to crush them in no time."

"Better make good of your promise," the Cloud jounin growled. "I hope the Hyuuga is under strict guard."

"Of course she is. The Konoha team won't get anywhere near there."

"I'll better make sure of it," Shii said, turning to lead his subordinates towards the prison block. The moment their backs were turned Guren formed a few handseals and released her technique.

"What the hell is this supposed to mean?" Shii shouted angrily as he dodged the sudden barrage of crystal senbon. His comrades weren't so lucky. One had been caught completely off guard and now resembled a pincushion, the other hadn't ducked fast enough and now had a crystal spike going through his lung. Shii's medical knowledge told him that it was fatal. Only one other member of his team was still in fighting condition.

"What does it look like?" Guren shrugged, her fingers already going through seals for another jutsu. "Orochimaru-sama wasn't getting enough from this deal, so I thought what if I killed you, blamed it on Konoha and brought Orochimaru-sama all the captives? He has interest in the Byakugan so he'd reward me." Technically speaking Orochimaru wanted the Sharingan, but Byakugan was close enough, wasn't it? At least in Guren's mind it was.

"The Raikage won't let it slide," he pointed out.

"Well, then I just have to make sure nobody tells him," the woman retorted.

Shii didn't argue with her logic. He could see that their deal was off. He jumped high to evade the crystals suddenly growing from the ground and released the technique he had prepared during Guren's speech.

"Raigen Raikouchuu!" The illusion of a lightning pillar blinded the woman momentarily. Shii's last surviving comrade immediately sprung forward to take advantage of it. But before he could score a hit, he was stopped. A monster had entered the room and protected Guren. A Curse Seal warrior, Shii recognized. One of them wasn't a big deal. The three that followed him made it a big deal. 'This is going to be tough,' he thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Pit trap~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto, Hana and her three dogs didn't fall for long before they landed. They found themselves in complete darkness before the door had closed after them.

"Where are we?" Naruto asked. Hana concentrated her Fire chakra into her palm and illuminated the space. It was a small, plain room with steel walls. As soon as they took it all in, slots opened in one of the walls and a hail of senbon flew out. The Konoha group avoided them by dropping to the ground.

"Screw it," Naruto growled and formed a Rasengan. He slammed is into the floor, as that was the only surface that wasn't steel. The boy was surprised as how easily the floor shattered.

"Watch out!" Hana shouted before the floor gave under them completely and they plummeted downwards. They landed hard in a perfectly ordinary looking hallway.

Hana and Naruto picked themselves from the rubble, brushing off the dust from their clothes. The younger chuunin looked up at the hole in the ceiling. It was quite high up and it would be hard to get back there. It was a wonder they weren't seriously hurt in the fall. But he felt no need to climb up there, feeling confident that Tenzo and Hotaru could take care of themselves.

"What did they make this base of?" the boy grumbled. "Glass?"

"It doesn't look like glass," the Inuzuka said as she pulled one of the red shards from one of her dogs' coat. "It actually looks like some precious stone."

"Who'd build a base out of that?" Naruto wondered. "Who could afford it?"

The Haimaru triplets growled.

"We have other worries coming our way," the kunoichi translated. Naruto immediately slipped into a fighting stance. Hana did the same. A second later a Sound ninja appeared from behind a corner.

"Just one?" Naruto smirked, activating his Whirlwind Fist.

"That's going to be easy," the dog mistress grumbled.

Naruto charged. The Oto shinobi was good. He dodged the chuunin's attack even in the narrow corridor. But he had no way to dodge the Gatsuuga of the Inuzuka quartet. He was out of commission in two seconds flat.

"Too easy," Hana commented once she stopped spinning.

"So where now?" Naruto asked. They were close to an intersection.

"Hm... let me see," the Inuzuka muttered as she and her companions sniffed the air. "I have a good feeling about this one," she pointed to the right.

"Then let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Command center~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fight had been going for quite a long time now. Shii and his partner had killed all the Curse Seal monsters, but Shii's partner didn't survive it. It was only him and Guren now. And he was wounded and tired. The woman was breathing hard too, but she had no serious wound. He might have the elemental advantage against her, but in his current state it was doing him little good. Things were looking bleak for the Kumo ninja. That was when somebody appeared in the doorway.

Shii didn't know whether to be happy or curse when the Leaf jounin entered the room. On one hand it meant that his time for defeating Guren was up. On the other it meant that Guren's time for defeating him was up too. And considering the wounds on his body, this fight had been going Guren's way. But no longer. Shii watched as she turned to face the Konoha ninja who spat several water bullets at her. She jumped out of the way, but it was a slow movement betraying just how injured and tired she was. Now Shii had the perfect chance to take her out, but then he'd have to face the uninjured and fresh Konoha jounin. It wasn't something he wanted to do in his current state. No, this was the time to cut his loses and report this fiasco to the Raikage. With the thought he put his escape plan into motion.

"Raigen Raikouchuu!" he shouted. To his opponents it looked like a huge pillar of lightning just appeared between them and blinded them with their light. They both yelped in surprise and pain. Shii waited for nothing and sprinted for the door as fast as his injured body allowed him. His path brought him uncomfortably close to the Leaf ninja and the man hurled a handful of shuriken at him. Fortunately for Shii he still couldn't see properly and only one of the shuriken got stuck in his flak jacket. Then the Kumo ninja was finally out of the door. He heard as the battle in the room behind him resumed. 'Good,' he thought. 'Let them kill each other.' Now he only had to get through some small fry and then he'll be on his way to Kumo. There were only the pesky annoyances of sneaking through the frontlines and reporting to A in front of him. Oh, he so wasn't looking forward to it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Prison~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kiba was valiantly trying to chew through his bonds. It wasn't going well, because he couldn't activate his Shikyaku no Jutsu without handseals and so he was stuck just with normal human teeth. Well, almost normal. But even the slightly elongated fangs of the Inuzuka clan weren't enough to cut through the thick ropes. Another problem was that it was extremely hard to twist enough to reach the bonds on his ankles with his mouth. Reaching the ones on his wrists behind his back was completely out of the question. A part of his mind reminded Kiba that even if he were successful, he'd be still stuck inside a cell in an enemy base with his hands tied, but he didn't care about it. He just had to do something. He hated the feeling of being weak and useless. And after the ambush it was hard to feel anything else.

He growled in anger as he remembered Akamaru being kicked into a tree and slumping down bonelessly. He had immediately charged at the man responsible, but his Tsuuga was dodged. And then he didn't even know what had hit him, but he was lying on the ground, his head hurting like nobody's business and somebody kneeling on his back and binding his arms. He had been unable to do a thing. It hurt even more than his wounds.

He could only bark toothlessly when some people came to Shino's cell, yelled at him for infesting the base with his bugs and then injected him with something that had knocked him out. The Aburame hadn't twitched since. If Kiba's sensitive ears couldn't detect his faint breathing, he'd fear that his teammate was dead.

Kiba sighed. Shino might have failed in his effort, but at least he had tried something. He on the other hand had been completely useless. That was why he tried so hard to do something at least now. If he was at least able to kick their captors or run... But first these damned ropes would have to snap first and so far it didn't seem like it would happen anytime soon. And the young Inuzuka knew that he needed it to happen soon. He didn't even need his clan's sensitive hearing to tell him there was a battle going on in the base. Did their reinforcements arrive? The genin hoped so. He chewed at the ropes with more ferocity and still no success.

Then the door to the prison swung open and three men marched in. They looked stronger than the usual guards. Kiba let go of the bonds and watched them warily. He became even warier as the threesome stopped in front of the cells of Team 8.

"Pick them up," the biggest of the men ordered. "Guren-sama wants us to take them to Base 19. We're going through the escape tunnel."

Then their cells were opened and Kiba understood that their time had just run out. He tried to kick the man, but all he managed was a slight twitch. The Sound ninja picked him up as if he was just a rag doll and carried him off, away from their rescuers. Kiba could only curse helplessly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Command center~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Shouton: Raising amethyst stalactites!" a woman's voice called while Tenzo's sight was still impaired after the lightning flash. At least whoever had cast that had left the room. He jumped up just in time to avoid multiple spikes of red crystal sprouting from the ground. He landed on a big chunk of stone that had fallen from the ceiling and looked around for his attacker. She didn't give him the time to gather his bearings and attacked him with a large crystal pillar. The former ANBU evaded.

He wondered what was going on here. This place was quite obviously a recent battlefield, the corpses strewn around being evidence enough, but he doubted that any of his students had gotten here before him. The damage around was caused by different combat style. So who was fighting whom? Did Orochimaru's lapdogs have a squabble? Considering how fanatical they tended to be, it sounded improbable, but it was a possibility. Or did some of the prisoners here try to escape? This place didn't look like it was anywhere near the holding cells, so it was unlikely too. And was that body dressed in a Kumo uniform? It was hard to tell, considering how badly it was torn up.

He was brought out of his musings by another crystal attack he barely avoided. That was a more pressing concern to worry about. He had never seen a technique like this in action, though he had heard rumors about it. He hadn't thought that there was much truth to them, but now he was learning otherwise. The Crystal release was real and even more dangerous than the stories suggested.

He dashed out of the way of another hail of tiny crystal needles, this time raining from above. It reminded him that he had little time for theoretical musings, he had to worry about surviving this battle first. And to achieve this end, he should take some initiative. He'd lose for sure if all he did was to defend.

A rustle of debris being crushed under somebody's foot gave away the rough location of his opponent. She was behind him, a bit to the left and approaching. He whirled around, throwing a kunai as he did. The woman in green dodged gracefully, continuing her charge. Tenzo engaged her in a taijutsu battle.

When after about a minute nobody could gain the upper hand, Guren jumped back. "Shouton: Jade blade!" she called. Crystal blades formed on both her forearms. She then attacked Tenzo again. The jounin just barely managed to draw two kunai to block her attack.

It quickly became obvious that she was very proficient in this form of combat. Tenzo found himself pushed back steadily. And then one of his kunai suddenly turned into purple crystal and cracked. He didn't have enough time to evade Guren's swipe completely. Only his jounin vest saved him from a serious injury. He quickly retreated, eyeing his opponent.

"Surprised?" the Oto kunoichi asked. "I can crystallize everything I touch. Metal, stone, even the moisture in the air."

This wasn't good, the Konoha ninja realized. He didn't want to continue the close-range battle. So how about a long-range one? Let's see how she'd deal with some of his jutsu.

"Mokuton: Jubaku no Jutsu!" he called. A beam of wood shot forward from his hand, splitting into several as it flew at Guren, trying to entrap her. The Crystal user managed to avoid it. She then looked at the technique impressed. Then a smile appeared on her face.

"Mokuton? Well, if it isn't my lucky day. You must be a survivor of Orochimaru-sama's experiments, aren't you?" She didn't wait for Tenzo's answer and continued. "If I deliver him not only the Hyuuga but you as well, I'll become his right hand!" Her eyes gleaming with excitement, she attacked again. Tenzo sighed. This wasn't a lucky day for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Base hallways~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto just sliced a Sound chuunin in half with his wind chakra charged ninjato, when he heard bells ringing. Immediately his vision began swaying wildly and everything appeared to be there at least ten times. There was no telling which image was the real one. The young Leaf shinobi sank to his knees as his sense of balance was destroyed.

'I hate genjutsu,' he thought as he watched at least a dozen clones of a Sound kunoichi approaching him with a cruel smirk on her lips. He brought up his hands in the genjutsu dispelling sign.

"Kai!" The false images disappeared and the world was stable once again. The enemy kunoichi was almost upon him, the kunai in her hand poised to strike. Naruto rolled on the ground and kicked at her feet. She reacted fast enough to jump over his leg. But once she was up in the air, she couldn't avoid his follow-up sword slash. She felt to the ground dying.

Naruto sprung to his feet. 'Another one.' He had lost count of the enemies he killed a long time ago. But there seemed to be no end to them. He made just five steps when another blocked his path. This one was a big man with his right arm encased in some strange metallic device that didn't look like armor. He swung the appendage at the approaching Leaf chuunin. Naruto didn't want to find out the hard way what did the gadget do, so he dodged. Then he realized it won't be enough as he noticed the air close to the device being distorted. He got out of the way of the technique via a quick Kawarimi with one of the corpses.

The man looked disappointed when he realized his jutsu had caused no damage. That was all he had the time to do because then a shout of "Tsuuga!" sounded and a furry tornado slammed into his side, throwing him far back into the corridor. Then the tornado turned into Hana.

"We don't have the time for this!" she shouted. She sounded desperate, quite unlike her usual demeanor on the battlefield. Naruto didn't find it strange. He'd be desperate too if it was his little brother who had been kidnapped, if he had a brother. But Hana's mental state made her prone to making mistakes. That was a dangerous mindset on the battlefield. But the kunoichi was right. They didn't have the time for this. The four captives can be even now carried away out of their reach or being killed.

He quickly stood by the Inuzuka's side. There was a group of five sound ninja, probably chuunin, blocking their way and Hana was preparing another attack.

"Don't," Naruto stopped her. She glared at him angrily. He paid her no mind and performed handseals. "Fuuton: Daitoppa!" he shouted. The jutsu had a devastating effect in the enclosed space. The five Sound ninja were swept off their feet and thrown into the wall on the far end of the corridor where they crashed into two guards protecting a doorway. All seven ninja collapsed to the ground and the pool of blood spreading under them suggested that they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

Unfortunately the powerful Wind jutsu used in an enclosed space backfired on its casters as well. The winds rising in the corridor knocked the Konoha duo into the ground. They were bruised severely, but sustained no major injury.

"Dammit, Tiny," Hana muttered as they climbed to their feet, "don't you know the meaning of restraint?"

"You were the one in a hurry," Naruto shrugged. "And look, the path is clear now. And if I'm not mistaken, there's something important behind this door." He suspected it might actually be where the captives were held. They had searched through a good bit of the base, mostly following Hana's nose or hunches. He had tried to use Kage Bunshin to search faster, but the clones got dispelled every time some Sound ninja used a Sound technique. They wouldn't hurt a person much, but it was enough to destroy a clone, sometimes even when they didn't hit directly. And trying to block with a Wind jutsu didn't help much, the two techniques clashing caused violent air currents that dispelled the clones too. But now it looked like they might be close to their goal.

Naruto was already running towards them as he said it. Upon arriving he confirmed his suspicion. This door was thick and closed with a complex locking mechanism that included some complicated seals. It was beyond his ability to open. But fortunately for him whoever made the door had focused all his attention on the lock and neglected other parts. So he stuffed two Exploding Tags under the hinges and backed off before activating them. There was a satisfying bang. Once the smoke cleared and their ears stopped ringing, they could see that the doorframe was now severely damaged.

"Tsuuga!" Hana waited for nothing and attacked the damaged door.

"Wait!" Naruto shouted. There was no guarantee that the door wouldn't be able to withstand the hit even in its current condition. But fortunately for the girl the hinges gave way and she fell through. Naruto and the Haimaru siblings ran after her.

"Ow, my head," she growled picking herself from the ground.

"Who attacks a wall with their head?" Naruto chided. She didn't answer. Her three dogs were barking urgently.

Only now the Konoha group took notice of where they were. It was very obviously a prison. The hallway was lined with cells. Some of them still contained prisoners. But the Haimaru were barking madly at an empty one. Hana ran to them and sniffed the air.

"Kiba was here!" she shouted excitedly. "Just a moment ago!"

"So where is he now?" Naruto asked, though the answer was almost obvious. There was only one other way leading out of the prison. The Inuzuka quartet confirmed that his guess was the correct one. With their goal almost within sight, the Konoha group raced after them.

They broke through another door and defeated two Sound guards who didn't even know what had hit them. Then they came face to face with a door that was much sturdier than all the others.

"Damn you!" Hana shouted attacking it in vain.

* * *

The end for today. And another Evil Cliffhanger no Jutsu. You must hate me now.

Next time: Will the rescue succeed? How will the battle turn out?


	52. The rescue

**Author's note: **Good news: My notebook turned out to be not quite dead, so I don't have to rewrite the whole chapter 53 from scratch. Next update shouldn't take long.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Nothing's going to change about it.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Underground base~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Sound ninja really aren't much,' Hotaru thought as she electrocuted another one with her Lightning chakra charged blade. 'But unfortunately there's an awful lot of them and I'm alone,' she added when two others immediately took his place. She jumped back and ran her fingers through a series of handseals.

"Magen: Jigoku Gouka no Jutsu!" The two Sound ninja screamed in pain as they felt themselves being burned by a giant fireball, not realizing that it was just an illusion. Before they could do so and break out of it, Hotaru sliced their throats. 'Two more down,' she thought, 'who-knows-how-many left to go.'

She let out a breath. She was alone for the moment, so she could afford to rest for a bit and she took the opportunity. Now that she thought about it, it was a wonder she wasn't attacked again immediately. Were the Sound running out of men already? On second thought, there didn't seem to be quite enough shinobi in this base considering how big it was. Though Hotaru encountered their groups often, she was never overwhelmed by their numbers and she could take breathers regularly. And she hadn't run into anyone considerably stronger than her after the initial clash. She filed the thought for later consideration. Now she had some captives to find and free.

She walked through the corridor for about two minutes before she arrived at an intersection. 'Where now?' she mused. The answer became obvious once she looked into all of the hallways. In the one on her left she saw two guards in front of a thick door. 'It looks like they're guarding something important,' she thought. 'Now how to get through them?'

She didn't spend a long time on her strategy. Her fingers raced through handseals. Soon the genjutsu was cast. The two guards turned to face the imaginary opponent rushing at them from the other direction. Their backs were facing Hotaru now. The purple-haired kunoichi sprung into action. Her kodachi crackling with chakra she quickly closed the distance between her and the guards and stabbed the closer one into the head. He collapsed without making a sound.

Unfortunately by that time his colleague realized he was inside a genjutsu and broke out of it. He turned towards Hotaru before she could stab him too. He blocked her attack with surprising strength. The purple-haired girl kicked his shin, but it felt like kicking a rock. Then the man's skin was covered with strange black pattern. 'Curse Seal,' the girl realized. And she had just thought that there weren't any tough enemies in this base. She really should have known better. This was going to be tough. She had to act quickly before he changed into his second level form.

She attacked with a series of furious slashes, but the man blocked her easily. She had the sinking feeling that he was toying with her. But that was something that could be exploited. If he didn't take her seriously, he wouldn't enter his second form.

She jumped back.

"Running away?" the Sound ninja taunted. He seemed completely unfazed by his comrade's death. Hotaru had heard that it was a common attitude among Oto shinobi. She didn't dwell on the thought, instead concentrating on the handseals she was performing.

"Raiton: Raikurai!" she shouted. A bolt of lightning sprung from her hands and hit the man in the chest.

"That stung," he complained. His shirt was singed, but that was all the effect the attack had. Hotaru cursed in her mind. She had hoped for a bigger result. "Is that all you've got?" her opponent taunted. He was inviting her to try something else. The Konoha kunoichi was happy to accept his invitation. Her fingers flashed through seals again.

"Raiton: Piercing lightning!" she cried the name of a powerful lightning attack. Her opponent tensed in anticipation of the almost unstoppable bolts. His face clearly showed his shock at her knowing such powerful technique. He had considered it impossible.

In truth, Hotaru couldn't perform it. But her shout was a diversion, making him miss the technique she had actually cast. So instead of the lightning bolts the Sound ninja suddenly found himself surrounded by rapidly whirling giant flowers. Their movements and bright colorful patterns were making him dizzy. Before he could figure out what was going on he felt a sharp pain in his neck. Hotaru had capitalized on his distraction and sliced his throat. He collapsed to the ground, the Curse Seal markings receding.

The Konoha kunoichi sighed in relief. That had been dangerous, but she prevailed. And now she was alone in front of the obviously important door. Now how should she get in?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Command center~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo cursed as his wood attack was transformed into purple crystal and turned against him. 'This is troublesome,' he thought, followed by: 'Now I sound like a Nara.' But it really was troublesome. None of the attacks he had thrown at his opponent had connected and there were already several instances when he had only narrowly avoided a fatal hit. 'Good thing she is tired and wounded,' he thought. 'Otherwise I'd have been toast already.' The question was what to do now. He could wait for her to tire out even more, but, he thought as he jumped out of the way of crystal spikes suddenly sprouting from the ground, he might not live long enough for the strategy to work. He couldn't wait for backup either, his three students being preoccupied with other Sound ninja somewhere far away. He needed to do something now. If he just had any good ideas.

He decided to go over the options from a tactical textbook. So if ninjutsu didn't work, what about some genjutsu? There was the problem that he wasn't exactly a genjutsu type, but he could do some. And he had already tried other tricks and failed.

He quickly hid behind one cracked crystal pillar that used to be a tree not so long ago. His fingers performed the seals quickly. "Kasumi Juusha no Jutsu," he whispered almost inaudibly. Three copies of him appeared around Guren. She quickly cut them with her Jade Blades. But instead of disappearing, every clone divided into two. The Oto kunoichi looked at the six Tenzo copies surrounding her in shock.

"Disappear already!" she yelled angrily and attacked them with fury. All she accomplished was multiplying their numbers faster. She tried to escape them, but they followed her.

Tenzo saw this as his opportunity. He could take her down now that she was distracted. He grabbed a kunai and moved towards her, covered by his illusion clones.

But just as he was within striking distance Guren suddenly stopped swinging her blades wildly and turned onto him. He had just enough time to block the blade aimed at his neck, but her other one hit his flak jacket and turned a part of it into crystal, which promptly shattered. The former ANBU jumped back immediately, but he couldn't avoid the damage completely. He was now bleeding seriously from a wound on his stomach.

"Did you really think I'd fall for such primitive trick?" Guren sneered. "You Leaf shinobi are really pathetic."

Tenzo didn't answer. His last-ditch plan had just failed spectacularly and he got wounded. His situation had just taken a sharp turn for the worse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Solitary cell~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kurenai felt that she wasn't a very good jounin. She even felt like she didn't deserve to be one. She went as far as to theorize that if it wasn't for the war, she wouldn't have been promoted so quickly, if at all. But she had been promoted and assumed jounin duties. She had been quite relieved when her duties were to become a jounin-sensei instead of a frontline fighter. She had been confident that she could do well as a teacher. And at first it seemed that she was right. Teaching had its own pitfalls, but she could overcome them and her three genin were improving. Kiba was still reckless, but she was doing her best to instill the value of thinking before acting into him. And his fighting and tracking abilities were good for his age and improving. Shino was always quiet and serious, but he could always handle whatever she threw at him. And Hinata, poor, little, shy Hinata, seemed to be gaining at least a tiny bit of confidence, despite her father's harsh words. Kurenai was convinced that given enough time she'd grow up into a fine kunoichi and allow herself to believe she was one. And the three genin worked very well together and cared about each other. They were a good team in the making. Everything had seemed alright.

Then their first C-rank mission came and it turned into a spectacular failure. She hadn't expected to be ambushed so close to Konoha. There had been no warning. One moment everything had been quiet and the next they were under attack. She had managed to kill two of the attackers, but they fell quickly in face of the overwhelming numbers. They were taken into captivity.

She knew very well what happened to captives. Especially if they were unlucky enough to get captured by Orochimaru's forces. And Kurenai had the sinking feeling that their attackers were from Otogakure. The young jounin shivered when she thought about it.

She forbade herself such depressing thoughts. She had to concentrate on something else, like getting out of here. But she had already gone through all her options for a hundred times. She was bound so tight she couldn't move, there was a chakra suppressing seal on her and she was inside a sturdy cell. She could do exactly nothing. She really hated her situation.

Then she could hear some commotion outside the door. She raised her head. Was it already time for her to be taken away for experiments? Or, she almost didn't dare to hope, did help arrive? She listened carefully. Yes, there was definitely a fight going on outside. She wondered who was fighting whom. Then the sounds of scuffle ended. Kurenai wondered who won. The quiet on the other side of the door was oppressive.

Then there was a loud explosion and the door fell inside. Her ears ringed and the cloud of dust raised by the explosion made her cough and her eyes tear. If she could just wipe them... but she was still tied.

Then a figure stepped through the hole. Kurenai couldn't see much, just that it was female. Probably. The mysterious person walked towards her.

"Yuuhi Kurenai?" she asked. The jounin blinked in surprise. Her captors wouldn't be so polite, would they? Then her teary eyes finally focused and she could see the newcomers hitai-ate. Konoha. So the rescue was here after all, unless this was some trick of her jailors.

"You are Yuuhi Kurenai, aren't you?" the girl asked. Kurenai nodded. There was no harm in it. "We're here for you," the girl said, loosening her bonds. Kurenai suppressed a grimace as blood rushed to her appendages. Then she was suddenly free. She rubbed her hands and feet that felt full of needles.

"Can you walk?" her rescuer asked.

"Yes, but they sealed my chakra," the jounin replied.

"Oh." The girl began searching for the seal, eventually discovering it on Kurenai's back. Then she pulled it off. Kurenai sighed in relief when she could feel her chakra again.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," the purple-haired girl smiled. "Now let's get out of here."

"We have to find my students first," the jounin-sensei reminded her.

"Do you know where they are?" Kurenai shook her head no. "Well, they weren't where I come through, so let's try this way?" the younger kunoichi pointed into one of the corridors.

Kurenai just shrugged. "Why not?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Prison passageway~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hinata cursed her powerlessness. The jailor was carrying her away and there wasn't a thing she could do about it. She knew that their rescue was almost there, she could tell by the explosions earlier, but they weren't going to make it in time. Soon the door of the underground passage would close behind them, the passageway would collapse and their rescuers would be stopped. And then she'll be taken to who-knows where, her eyes taken and she'd be forced to bear children for her captors. And who knew what horrors awaited her teammates and sensei. And all of that because she was too weak. If she was more like Neji or Hanabi or any other shinobi, she could do something. But she was just poor little Hinata, the eternal failure.

She felt tears surging into her eyes. She always knew that she wouldn't last long as a kunoichi, especially during wartime, but she didn't want to drag her comrades, her friends, down with her. But what could she do? She was bound so tightly she couldn't move. And even if she could move, she wasn't strong enough to defeat the man. It was hopeless. Soon the door would close behind them and then... No! She couldn't accept it. She just couldn't. She had to do something. So what if she was too weak to win this fight? She didn't have to. She only had to slow their captors down so the rescue could arrive in time.

So what could she do? She was bound, but her chakra wasn't sealed. Their captors hadn't considered the genin dangerous enough even after Shino's stunt and sealed only Kurenai's chakra. But her chakra wouldn't do her much good when she couldn't perform handseals. But she didn't need seals to perform Juuken. And the guy carrying her was dumb enough to hold her in one arm so that her bound hands were close to his belly. But her Juuken wouldn't be very effective if she couldn't see his tenketsu. And she needed handseals to activate her Byakugan. She sighed as she remembered how her father always activated his doujutsu with just a thought. But he was a strong warrior and she wasn't.

But she couldn't give up. She was Hiashi's daughter, Neji's cousin and Hanabi's sister. At least a bit of their greatness should have rubbed off on her. So could she perhaps activate her Byakugan seallessly? Well, one way to find out. Hinata took a deep breath and concentrated.

It was hard. Her chakra didn't want to move according to her wishes without the aid of handseals. But it wasn't unresponsive either. With a bit more concentration, she could force chakra into her eyes. It just wasn't very effective. She concentrated harder and then suddenly the world become brighter and her field of vision expanded.

"Byakugan," she whispered in relief.

"What?" the man carrying her jerked, realizing that something was wrong. But it was already too late for him. Hinata could see his tenketsu clearly. Just a little twist of her fingers, a little blast of chakra and the first one was closed. The second one followed almost immediately. The man screamed and dropped her. As she fell, she closed three more tenketsu in his left thigh. His leg gave out. He collapsed on the ground next to the Hyuuga girl.

Hinata's Byakugan deactivated on its own as she hit the ground. She had wasted too much chakra activating it and now she was spent. But she was happy. She had slowed them down. She had actually accomplished something.

"What's going on?" the man carrying Kiba asked.

"That bitch..." Hinata's jailor hissed through clenched teeth, pushing himself into sitting position. "She attacked me." He pulled out a kunai. The young Hyuuga froze in fear. Was he going to kill her now? She didn't want to die. But if her sacrifice helped her teammates, then she had no regrets.

"Pick her up and go," Kiba's captor commanded.

"I can't," the downed man pointed at his unresponsive leg.

"You're useless," Kiba's captor scoffed before walking to her and picking her up with one arm. The shift in his grip gave Kiba the opportunity to bite him and the young Inuzuka took it. Unfortunately even his teeth couldn't pierce the armor. But it served to annoy the man.

"Let go," he shouted angrily and shook his captive. Kiba held on fast.

"Hurry!" the man holding Shino shouted. "They're almost here." As if to prove his words the door at the end of the hallway were blown into smithereens.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Command center~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The floor was completely covered in crystal shards and wooden splinters, sometimes accompanied by bigger pieces of debris. It was no wonder considering what battle was taking place here and how long it has been going on. But it was going to end soon, of that Guren was sure. She was breathing hard, low on chakra and bleeding from several shallow wounds, but her opponent was even worse of. The Konoha jounin was barely standing now, his current state caused partially by exhaustion and partially by blood loss from the numerous cuts and stabs on his body. Yet he looked at her defiantly, determined to fight her until his last breath. Guren would be perfectly happy to oblige, but she thought that Orochimaru would rather have him alive than dead. That prevented her from using some of her more dangerous jutsu, but she had plenty others at her disposal.

She clasped her hands together and ran her fingers through a sequence of seals. "Shouton: Amethyst prison!" she called. Tenzo jumped out of the way clumsily. His left leg didn't respond as it should, thanks to a deep wound below his knee. He managed to avoid most of the attack, only his leg getting caught in the crystal. It was a very unfavorable position to be in, but he refused to give up. He raised his hands to cast one last jutsu, hoping beyond hope that this time he'd actually hit the Oto woman.

Guren just scoffed seeing his futile attempt. She was going to show him that the battle was already over. But just as she was about to move, she realized that she couldn't. There was a tree behind her, binding her with its branches.

'That was good,' she thought. 'I didn't even feel him cast the technique. But this changes nothing.' Tenzo had almost caught her in something similar before, so now she knew how to deal with it. She concentrated on turning the wood into crystal. But nothing happened. Guren frowned. If she couldn't crystallize the tree and shatter it, she'd be completely open to all sorts of attacks. But why didn't her powers work on this one when they had worked on all the previous ones?

And then it hit her. Genjutsu! She couldn't crystallize the tree because it wasn't really there. "Kai!" she shouted. Dispelling genjutsu without the use of the proper handseal was hard, but Guren was a good ninja and she managed. The tree binding her disappeared. She moved, but not fast enough. The kunai pierced her chest, but fortunately it missed her heart. She stumbled away, turning to face her attacker. It was the red-eyed kunoichi they had captured several days earlier. Guren snarled at her. That was all she had the time to do before she sensed an attack coming from behind. She quickly created a crystal shield on her back. The Lightning-charged blade slammed into it. And shattered it. Her Shouton was a variant of the Earth release and shared its weakness against Lightning.

Guren cursed as she acquired another serious wound. She quickly switched her place with a boulder and assessed her situation. It wasn't good. She was now facing three opponents (Tenzo had freed his leg from the prison), two of them were jounin, she was wounded, tired and losing blood fast. As much as she hated the thought of giving up, she knew that it was the time to quit. Orochimaru-sama wasn't going to be happy, but as long as he got the Hyuuga, he shouldn't be too angry at her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Prison block main door~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto slammed the Rasengan into the door. He expected it to give way quickly, but it wasn't to be. 'What are these things made of?' he thought as the sphere of chakra slowly drilled into the hard metal. He was going through, but it was taking too long and too much chakra. By this rate he was going to be seriously tired before he broke through and there was a battle awaiting him on the other side. But there was nothing he could do about it. He could just maintain the jutsu and hope that he'd be able to deal with whoever was on the other side.

'If just the Rasengan could cut like the Wind chakra,' he mused. He imagined a concentrated sphere of deadly sharp wind chakra drilling into the door, destroying them within seconds. Now that would be awesome. But unfortunately the Rasengan wasn't an elemental technique so the cutting power wasn't so great and he was stuck waiting for it to work.

'Then what about making Rasengan a wind jutsu?' the chuunin mused slightly. That would be the coolest thing in the world. But unfortunately it would be also extremely difficult. Even the regular Rasengan required almost all of his concentration. Concentration that he had let slip. Naruto frowned when he realized that his Rasengan had lost its spherical shape, turning into a vortex of raw chakra which while quite dangerous couldn't really cut through the reinforced metal. He deactivated the jutsu to stop wasting chakra, sent a sheepish look to the impatient Hana and then applied it again. And slammed it into the door.

He was surprised when the door suddenly gave way. He had expected it to take longer. He lost his balance and fell into the corridor behind it.

"Kiba!" Hana shouted jumping over him, her three partners following at her heels. One of them stepped on Naruto's head.

"Mind your feet," the boy growled springing to his feet. Nobody listened to him. The four Inuzukas were too busy charging at their enemies.

The one sitting on the ground turned around and lifted his kunai, but he was trampled to the ground without even slowing them down. The one holding Kiba reacted by throwing the boy into Hana's path. The kunoichi stopped her attack and caught him.

"Kiba!" she shouted again.

"Sister!" the boy replied. The shout let her know exactly how scared he had been and how relieved he was to see her. His erstwhile captor used the moment of distraction to attack.

Meanwhile Naruto got to his feet and raced after Hana. He finished off the man on the ground who had been about to throw his kunai at her unprotected back. Then he knelt to free the young Hyuuga girl when he noticed the other man leaping at Hana. It seemed that the dog mistress didn't notice it. He stood up again and grabbed a kunai to throw at the man, but he could already see that he wasn't going to make it in time.

Fortunately the Haimaru triplets were always on guard. Even as the man charged, two of them sprang at him and the third one pushed the distracted Inuzuka siblings to the ground. It cost him. His two brothers were unable to stop the attacker completely and his kunai cut into the dog's coat. The animal howled in pain.

"You bastard!" Hana yelled. She was now completely focused on destroying the enemy. She dropped Kiba to the ground, which caused the younger Inuzuka to yelp in pain, and charged the attacker.

"Stop it or I'll kill him!" the guy holding Shino captive shouted, pressing a kunai to the Aburame's throat. Hana didn't seem to even notice him, she was too focused on the man who had hurt her brother and her dog. And the Sound ninja's muscles tensed in a way suggesting that he was about to make good on his threat and slice Shino's throat. Naruto realized that he was the only one who could do anything about the situation and he was too far away. It didn't look good, but there was something he could try.

He brought his hands together in a seal. He hoped that the man wouldn't notice, being too focused on Hana, and silently activated the technique. Whenever he used Shadow Clones, they usually appeared next to him. But when he created a lot of them, some appeared pretty far away. Shino's captor was just within range. So could he will one clone into existence within his reach?

He almost sighed with relief when it actually worked. A clone appeared right behind the man without him being any wiser. He did notice the sound of a sword being drawn and turned to look around. In the next moment a Wind-charged blade sliced off the arm holding the kunai. The man just blinked in surprise as if he couldn't believe what did just happen. Before he could come to terms with it, the clone sliced off his head. The decapitated torso collapsed to the ground, dropping Shino to the ground painfully. The genin didn't even twitch.

Naruto quickly assessed the situation. Hana was fighting the last remaining Sound shinobi and was holding her own. The three genin were lying on the ground. Naruto quickly sliced through Hinata's and Kiba's bonds. His clone did the same thing for Shino.

"He's out cold," the clone announced.

"What's wrong with him?" the original Naruto inquired.

"I don't know," the clone shrugged.

"They injected him with something," the Hyuuga kunoichi supplied.

"He tried to get out of the cell," Kiba elaborated, "so they knocked him out so he won't use his bugs again."

"Then he should wake up on his own," Naruto speculated, trying to sound reassuring to the genin.

"Where is Akamaru?" the young Inuzuka wanted to know.

"Outside," the chuunin answered. "A puppy shouldn't be in battle. And you shouldn't too. Let's get you out of here."

"But sister..."

"Can take care of herself," Naruto interrupted him. "Now get up and get going."

As soon as he said it they were hit by a wave of tainted chakra. Naruto turned around to see that Hana's opponent had turned into something resembling a bald gorilla with claws and antlers and the older Inuzuka was lying on the ground, bleeding from three gashes in her side.

'I jinxed it,' was his first thought when he saw the Level 2 Curse Seal in action. They had been lucky so far that they hadn't run into one up to now.

"Change of plan," he said to the three genin. "You grab Shino and run and I fight him." He shoved the unconscious genin his clone had brought into their arms.

"But..." Kiba wanted to protest, but the chuunin cut him off.

"You'd just get underfoot. So scram!" They didn't look happy, but they obeyed. Naruto didn't wait for them to round the corner and joined the melee.

Hana was on her feet again, but the monster was pushing her back with overwhelming strength. Yet the Curse Seal beast lacked finesse. It just attacked recklessly with its claws and antlers. The kunoichi could see plenty of openings she could take if her wounds weren't slowing her down so much. This way only her uninjured dogs could try to grab its legs and fail to find purchase on its smooth, rock-hard skin.

Naruto saw all of that. He also noticed that the man seemed to be fully focused on the Inuzuka. He took advantage of that. He quickly switched with the corpse of Shino's captor. The Sound ninja didn't notice a thing even when Naruto charged at him with his sword drawn. The Wind-sharpened blade sliced through his iron skin and the muscle underneath. And that was all it did. The Curse Seal granted the man increased resilience and regenerative ability. The wound was already closing as he turned to deal with the new annoyance.

Naruto cursed as he ducked under his claw swipe. It's been a long time since he fought one of these beings and he forgot just how tough they were. Now he was remembering. He also recalled that they tended to have some weak spot. It was just the question of finding it and exploiting it before they could kill you.

He blocked the beast's next attack and observed it carefully to figure out where its weakness could be. So far nothing stood out. Its skin was uniformly smooth. Even the belly didn't look any less armored than the rest. That left the head as the most likely spot. But hitting it was easier said than done. Despite its lack of tactics the Curse Seal monster never forgot to protect it. This was going to need some strategy.

Fortunately he wasn't fighting alone. Hana use her short reprieve to pull herself together. She stood up and threw a soldier pill to her one uninjured dog. He grew bigger and darker before turning into her copy. She decided that now was a good time to try out her new jutsu.

"Gatenga!" She and her dog sprung forward, spinning to create two cutting disks. The monster gorilla's back was wide enough for both of them to hit. They slammed into it. They failed to cause significant damage, but they knocked the enemy to the ground. Before it could get up, Naruto took his chance. A Rasengan formed in his hand. Then he slammed it into the beast's head. It had tried to defend with its antlers, but the chuunin evaded them skillfully. Then the rotating chakra sphere drilled into its brain. Soon the Sound ninja was dead, is transformation fading upon his demise.

"That was more trouble than it should be," Hana remarked. Naruto didn't argue.

"We're lucky we didn't run into these before. Though it's strange there weren't more. I wonder if the others fought them." They fell silent for a moment, contemplating possible implications. Their thoughts were interrupting by the sounds of fighting coming from the direction of the prison block.

* * *

And here comes yet another Evil Cliffhanger no Jutsu.

Next time: What mess did Team 8 get into this time?


	53. Out of the deep

**Author's note:** Chapter 53 finally here. It was harder to write than expected. Next chapter might take a while, once again I have to write the whole arc and then divide it into chapters. And the next arc is hard to write for some reason, which is odd because it's full of scenes I wanted to write for a long time.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The prison~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hinata and Kiba made their way through the prison, dragging Shino's unresponsive body with them. As they walked past the occupied cages, the prisoners moved towards the grates, looking at them and some of them calling to them.

"Help us!" "Don't leave us here!" "Take us with you!" "Please!"

"We can't leave them here, Kiba-kun," Hinata spoke.

"We have to get away," her teammate said, but he didn't sound very convinced. He wanted to help these people too, but the sounds of battle coming from behind told him that they should get out of here fast. "The others can help them later."

Hinata had to admit that it was true, but she didn't like it. She hated the feeling of being stuck in a cell, waiting in dread for whatever nasty thing their captors had in store for them. She wouldn't wish that fate on anyone. And, she thought as she heard a loud explosion from where their rescuers were fighting, if they ran into trouble on their way, they'd be screwed.

"If we free them, they can help us against the Sound ninja," she pointed out. Now Kiba had to admit that it was the truth. As much as he considered himself an awesome ninja, he couldn't forget how he had fared in their last fight and he didn't even have Akamaru here this time.

"You're right," he said. "There are the keys," he pointed at the far end of the corridor. Then he ran over there and picked the heavy keyrings. He threw one to Hinata and then they started unlocking the cells.

"I'm free!" "Thank you! Thank you!" "I'm getting out of here!" "If I bring you to Orochimaru-sama, I'll get back in his good graces!"

"What?!" Hinata exclaimed shocked at the last statement. Before she could do anything else, she was hit in the head so hard she saw stars. She fell to the ground.

"Hinata!" Kiba shouted. "What are you doing, you bastard?"

"What does it look like?" the man replied grabbing the dazed kunoichi by her hair.

"Let her go!" the Inuzuka demanded.

"No."

"We just saved you!" the genin tried to appeal at the man's conscience, but it turned out he had none.

"Your mistake," he shrugged.

"I'm going to kill you!" Kiba screamed. "Shikyaku no Jutsu!" His nails hardened into claws and his face became feral. "Tsuuga!" He jumped and started the signature jutsu of the Inuzuka clan. The furry tornado flew at the man. But Kiba still had a long way to go before he became any proficient with it. The man dodged easily and punched the boy as he flew past him. Kiba crashed into the wall, his head pounding.

"You're a hundred years too early to take on me, puppy," the man scoffed.

But Kiba's charge had one positive result: it forced the man to let go of Hinata. The girl scrambled to her feet. Her fingers went through the necessary seals. They felt sluggish, but she managed to complete the sequence before the man turned to her.

"Byakugan," she said. Immediately she could see his chakra circulatory system. He was just a step away. Her hands glowed with chakra and she attacked.

Unfortunately the man was a seasoned fighter and sensed her attack before it could land. He whirled around. Hinata's fingers still delivered a painful hit, but they failed to close any tenketsu. Then the man's hand closed around her wrist and yanked at it painfully. She was thrown forward, right into Kiba. The two genin landed in a heap. Hinata's Byakugan deactivated. She had no energy to keep it on anymore.

"Somebody help us!" she cried desperately. Sure the people they had freed would help them in turn. But nobody did. They were too busy taking care of their own hides. Most of them had already run away. One walked over to the two genin.

"There's three brats and two of us," he observed. "That's more than enough for us to get back into Orochimaru's good graces."

"Bastards," Kiba growled. He was ignored. He hated being considered insignificant. But what could he do? His strongest attack had already proven ineffective. But lying down wasn't something he wanted to do in this situation. He was an Inuzuka, a genin of Konoha, and he wasn't going to accept his fate lying down. So he abandoned all strategy and attacked blindly. It went about as well as could be expected. The man kicked him in the stomach mid-jump, sending him flying into the closest wall. The Inuzuka boy slumped down.

"Kiba!" Hinata shrieked. Seeing her teammate's fate made something in her snap. She charged blindly too, yelling furiously. Somehow she still mustered enough chakra for a Juuken strike. And by some miracle she actually managed to connect before the man kicked her away too.

"You bitch!" he shouted, the pain in his side making him furious. He stalked towards her.

"Don't kill her or Orochimaru-sama won't forgive us," the other man stated, but he was ignored. The two genin saw there was nothing they could do. The man was going to kill them in his rage. They could just sit and tremble as he approached them.

Then he suddenly stopped, an expression of surprise appearing on his face. He turned around even as blood started seeping into his clothes. He was just in time to see a little blond chuunin charging at him.

Naruto was glad that his Wind chakra charged kunai had hit home and that it had been enough to stop the man. With Orochimaru's creations one could never be sure whether a wound was serious or not. Quite often the answer was 'not.' Even this man was still standing with an injury that would have killed a normal person. But it still slowed him down. He barely lifted his arms in defense when Naruto charged at him. His block was ineffective. Naruto was using his Whirlwind Fist and the rotating Wind blades cut deep into his forearms, taking out huge chunks of flesh and bones. The man just stared in disbelief at his now useless stumps. Naruto finished him off by a strike to the head. Then Hana tore out his throat to make sure, despite the fact that his brain was leaking out of the hole in his skull.

In the next moment a high-pitched sound sent them all to their knees. The Konoha group lay on the ground, not sure which way was up and clutched at their hurting ears. Just what was that? They got their answer soon enough as they saw the other former captive walking towards them, his arms positioned to unleash another sound attack if need be. His lips were moving, but nobody could hear his words. Their ears were ringing too much. They all wondered whether they became permanently deaf.

Naruto was the closest to the man. He knew that it was up to him to act and he'd have to do it soon or the man might unleash another attack. And the young ninja didn't know whether he'd be able to withstand it. The question was what he could do. He doubted he'd manage to grab his sword and slice the man in half in time. And if he wanted to use a ninjutsu, he probably wouldn't make it either. Taijutsu was out of the question, his sense of balance was completely off. That left only one thing he could do.

He took a deep breath and Screamed. The man countered with another of his sound attacks. The two techniques nullified each other.

Then a kunai flew by. The throw was wide and the man didn't pay it any attention. He advanced another step. Naruto pushed himself to his knees. His sense of balance was still off, but at least he now didn't confuse up and down anymore. The former prisoner just smirked and lifted his arm again. Then an explosion from behind threw him forward, straight into Naruto. The chuunin took the opportunity. He grabbed the man's neck and concentrated his Wind chakra into his palms. Blood flowed from the cut jugular. Naruto then stabbed the man for good measure. Then he threw the corpse away and stood up.

"I got him!" Kiba exclaimed. "Hey, sis, did you see my awesome work with the Exploding Tag?"

"I saw," Hana replied. She didn't sound as proud as the younger Inuzuka thought she would. "And do you see that?" she pointed to the epicenter of the explosion. The walls there were cracked and purple glass-like shards littered the ground. "You nearly brought the ceiling down on our heads. Be more careful with the Blast Notes next time. And don't borrow my equipment without permission again."

"Sorry," Kiba apologized. "How could I know this base is so shoddy?" He pretended he didn't hear the part about taking Hana's Exploding Note.

"Stop it," Naruto interjected. "We have to get out of here before it collapses and we end up stuck here."

Nobody protested. They grabbed the unconscious Shino and headed out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Escape tunnel~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guren was breathing heavily when she finally reached the passageway leading out of the base. This day had been a huge fiasco. But as long as she could deliver the Hyuuga and her teammates to Orochimaru-sama, the fallout wouldn't be so bad.

But as she walked through the hallway, she realized that it wasn't going to be. The men she had tasked with transporting the captives lay dead on the ground. So the Konoha ninja had found them before they could collapse the tunnel behind them. This wasn't good. She wanted to run after the Leaf group herself and wrestle the three genin from them and if possible add some more specimens for Orochimaru-sama to experiment on, but the rational part of her mind insisted that it was impossible. She was at the verge of collapse due both to exhaustion and blood loss. She probably wouldn't be able to defeat the three genin, much less whoever had rescued them.

Her eyes narrowed. 'So you think you've won,' she thought. 'But it isn't going to be so easy. You aren't getting out of here alive.' Then she laid her hand on the wall. She sent whatever chakra she had left into the stones. They responded to her immediately. She had set up the whole base to be that way when she had created it with her Shouton power. Then she gave the walls an order. She smiled grimly as they cracked in response. Yes, the Konoha ninja won't be leaving alive. She didn't wait to see the results of her handiwork and limped away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Base hallways~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group wasn't moving as fast as they wanted. Though Naruto had created clones to carry those who couldn't walk on their own, namely Shino and two of the Haimaru siblings, they still had two genin with them and Hana's injuries were sowing her down considerably. The boy just prayed that they wouldn't run into a Curse Seal monster or some other result of Orochimaru's experiments who happened to be actually good at fighting. He was the only one still in fighting condition and even he was battered a lot. Fortunately it seemed that they had already defeated most of the base's forces on their way in. Though they still encountered a few opponents, they were chuunin level at best. Naruto could deal with them even in his current fatigued state.

Then a cracking sound made everybody snap at attention.

"What was that?" Kiba asked, looking around. Hinata tried to activate her Byakugan, but was too tired for that.

"Something's breaking," Hana spoke. "It sounds like stone or glass."

"Glass? Here?" her brother questioned. Naruto paled. He remembered where did he see something resembling glass here.

"Could it be the walls breaking?"

"You mean..." the older Inuzuka started, not finishing her sentence. Her point was made obvious by the crack suddenly appearing in the ceiling.

"The base is going to collapse!" Naruto yelled. This was bad. He could deal with enemies, but having the structure bury them alive would be too much. And though he assumed they were close to the exit now, they couldn't exactly take the same way they had fallen through on their way in and had to search for an alternate route. That could and probably would take too long.

"Run!" Kiba screamed in fright and took off through the corridor. The rest of the group followed him, having no better idea.

They raced against time as more and more cracks appeared around them. The base could collapse at any minute. They came at an intersection and Kiba sprinted straight through, completely missing the upwards-leading stairs in the corridor on the right.

"Wait!" Hana screamed, but the genin was too panicked to listen. Maybe he couldn't even hear her. Naruto just created a pair of clones, making them appear close to the desperately fleeing child. The two clones grabbed him. Kiba bit one and dispelled it in his panic, but the other one managed to pick him up and carry him back to the group, who was already climbing the stairs.

Once they reached the top, they could feel fresh breeze.

"The exit's near!" Hana exclaimed, trying to restore hope in the group. They didn't have much of it. The walls were already cracked so much that it was a miracle they were still holding together. But with their goal almost within sight, everybody found some last reserves of strength and sprinted faster.

They almost made it. They could already see the faint light coming from outside. Then a figure stepped into their path and it was obvious that it wasn't one of their comrades.

"Go away!" Naruto yelled rushing at him. The man showed no intention to obey him. In fact, he looked determined to bar their escape with all his power. Naruto drew his sword. As he neared the man, he slashed with all his might and Wind chakra extending his blade greatly. It sliced deep into the man's chest. But he refused to fall. As Naruto was about to pass him, he grabbed the boy's arm, stopping him in his track. Only then he collapsed, right under the feet of the rest of the team. It caused a mass-tumble.

"Bastard!" Kiba shouted, stabbing the man with Hana's borrowed kunai. It was pointless, as the man was already dying. Then the ceiling finally collapsed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Command center~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Thanks for the rescue," Tenzo sighed wearily. It had come in the nick of time. He wasn't sure he could have lasted another minute.

"Can you stand?" Kurenai asked.

"Probably," Tenzo shrugged.

"We should take care of your wounds first," Hotaru suggested. Her teacher was still bleeding and if he passed out of blood loss, it would cause problems. She reached into her equipment pouch and took out a roll of bandages. Though she was no medic, she could at least slow down the bleeding.

"We have to find my students," Kurenai said. Though she could see the need to take care of the other jounin's injuries, she was beside herself with worry. She had now seen enough to know that they had been captured by Oto forces. And that meant being in Orochimaru's power. The tales of the traitorous Sannin's experiments scared her to the core. She tried not to think about what the sick bastard might have already done to her poor students. The only thought that prevented her from panicking was that it seemed that Orochimaru himself wasn't present here.

"I haven't seen them," Tenzo said.

"And we have to find Hana and Naruto too," Hotaru reminded them.

"They can take care of themselves," the Wood user said.

"You couldn't take care of yourself," the purple-haired kunoichi pointed out while tying the bandages.

"I think these were the strongest fighters in this base," Tenzo speculated.

"Hopefully," Kurenai said. Nobody had anything to say to this.

A little while after that Hotaru tied the last knot.

"It's finished," she announced.

"Then let's go," Kurenai decided. She was getting impatient. The whole group stood up, Tenzo a bit shakily, and headed for the only exit from the wrecked command room. Before they could reach it, they heard the ominous sound of glass cracking. Repeatedly.

"What's that?" Hotaru asked, drawing her kodachi. She couldn't see any hostiles, yet there was a profound sense of danger in the air. And more sound of glass cracking. Then something fell from the ceiling. It was a piece of crystal. It was shortly followed by another. And another.

"The ceiling's going to collapse!" Kurenai realized. The cracks were now very visible. And then the doorway crumbled. There was no way they could make it out now.

"Mokuton: Wood barrier!" Tenzo shouted, using what chakra he had still left to form a protective cocoon around them. He prayed that it would be enough even as he heard the ominous rumble signaling that the ceiling finally gave way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Rubble~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto grumbled as he threw away a large chunk of soil with grass.

"We were so lucky," he commented. "Were there any more earth above us..."

"We'd be dead," Hana finished his sentence. "But don't be so fast with the lucky part. My wounds opened again and we have to dig up Haimaru and Shino and Hinata." Kiba was sitting next to Hana, coughing and trying to get the dust out of his eyes.

"I know," Naruto sighed and summoned chakra to create four Kage Bunshin. They immediately started removing the soil. They found Hinata first. The girl had her eyes closed and a bump was forming on her head.

"Hinata!" Kiba cried worriedly. The girl didn't respond. Hana checked her over.

"She's going to be alright," she concluded. "She's just knocked out." Kiba sighed with relief and began hovering over his teammate.

One of the Haimaru dogs was next. They found him because he was trying to dig himself up and disturbing the soil above him. The moment Hana and Naruto's clones removed the dirt he climbed up on his own. Beneath him lay one of his brothers, too injured to get out on his own, but the two chuunin pulled him up without much trouble.

Finding the third one took a bit longer. Fortunately the two freed dogs showed them where to dig. They found the big dog draped protectively over Shino's body. They both seemed so still that for a moment the rescuers doubted whether they were still alive. It turned out that they were, but their condition was serious. Not only they were buried the deepest, but also the longest.

"They need to get to the hospital," Hana informed her companions. "I can't treat them well enough here."

"And you need to get to the hospital too," Naruto pointed out. "And we're in no shape to travel."

"Where's Akamaru?" Kiba asked. "We can't leave him here."

"And where's Tenzo? And Hotaru?" Naruto added.

"And Kurenai-sensei?" Kiba added. "Akamaru! Hey, Akamaru! Where are you! You said you left him at the exit," he said.

"This isn't where we came in," Hana replied.

"Are you sure?" Naruto questioned. "The landscape changed so much." It was true. There was now a crater where the underground base used to be.

"I'm sure," Hana stated. "We're further north and a bit to the east."

"So where's Akamaru?" Kiba demanded.

"I think somewhere over there," Hana pointed right across the crater filled with broken trees. It seemed nigh impossible to get across.

"Alright!" Kiba exclaimed and ran into the devastation. Naruto sighed and followed after him. He couldn't allow the genin to run around alone when there might still be enemies around.

The wrecked forest was easier to move through than it seemed at the first glance. It was still harder than running through a regular forest, but there were still spaces between the branches a ninja could jump through and branches and trunks to step onto. The two boys were making a good time.

"Akamaru!" Kiba called when he thought they might be getting close. "Akamaru! Where are you?"

Finally a soft whine responded.

"Akamaru!" Kiba cried in relief and ran in that direction. He was so overjoyed that he ignored everything but his partner. Naruto, following a few steps behind him, didn't have senses as fine as an Inuzuka, but he still detected a suspicious sound.

"Wait, Kiba!" he called, but the genin ignored him completely. Maybe he didn't even hear him. He was so concentrated on his partner.

Akamaru whined again and this time it sounded distressed.

"Everything's going to be alright, boy!" Kiba assured him. Naruto disagreed. This situation wasn't alright. He sped up and tackled the young Inuzuka to the ground.

"What the hell?" Kiba demanded as he landed face down in the dirt. He was answered by a pair of kunai flying in their direction. Naruto used his kunai to knock them down from the air.

"So you noticed me," a voice spoke. There was a rustle of leaves and a young man, or rather still a teenager, with an Oto hitai-ate walked out of the foliage. In his left hand he was holding Akamaru by the scruff of his neck. The puppy was struggling to get free, but couldn't do much in his position.

"Akamaru!" Kiba shouted desperately. "Put him down!"

"I don't think so," the Sound ninja shook his head. "Now put your weapons down or this mutt dies."

"You bastard!" Kiba growled. He looked ready to charge at the enemy, but the fear for his partner's life was holding him back. The Oto shinobi just sneered viciously at him.

"You have five seconds," he spoke, raising his right hand with a kunai to Akamaru's body. In the next second three kunai charged with Wind chakra hit him. Two pierced both of his wrists, forcing him to drop Akamaru and the kunai, third went through his neck, severing his spine.

"That's how you do it," Naruto said. "But you made a nice distraction, Kiba."

There was another pained whine, informing them that Akamaru didn't land safely.

"Akamaru!" Kiba ran to his partner, completely ignoring Naruto's lecture. The chuunin sighed. Kiba really had a one-track mind, but that wasn't surprising, considering how Hana always was if one of her dogs got hurt.

"You should be careful," Naruto lectured the dog user. "We told you there might still be Sound ninja around."

"Akamaru, are you alright?" Naruto shook his head. The genin really wasn't listening.

"Let's get him to Hana," Naruto said. That finally got through to the boy. "And don't run off again."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The broken forest~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The broken trees lay all around in awkward angles. Their leaves were still green, but soon they'll begin withering and crumbling. They were already dead. Eventually new trees will grow in their place, but the devastation would be obvious for decades to come.

One young tree didn't know that it wasn't its time to grow and flourish yet. It shot towards the sky with amazing speed, quickly turning from a tiny seedling into a giant tree. It looked out of place among the devastation. Then its trunk split and out fell a man. He remained motionless among the broken branches. Not long after him two more figures followed out of the tree. Both of them immediately knelt next to the man.

"How is he?" Hotaru asked.

"I'm no medic," Kurenai answered, "but I'd say complete chakra exhaustion. That type that takes weeks to recover from at best."

"That's bad," Hotaru mused.

"It's no wonder," the genjutsu mistress said. "He's been through a tough fight, then he had to protect us from the base collapsing and then he created this hollow tree to allow us to get out. Frankly I'm amazed he lasted this long."

"Good thing he did." Hotaru shuddered thinking of what would have happened if he didn't. Being buried alive wasn't something she wanted to experience. Ever. "So what now?"

"We still have to find my students," Kurenai stated. She didn't want to think of the possibility that they might be already dead or dying under several tons of soil and crystal, but her too logical mind insisted that it was the most likely possibility. If that was so, there was nothing she could do for them. No matter how much she wanted to dig through the whole area with her bare hands. There was just too much ground to cover to be humanely possible. Hotaru was entertaining similar thoughts, only she was worrying about her teammates.

"What are we going to do with him?" she pointed at the unconscious Tenzo. "We can't leave him here and we can't drag him along through this." She pointed at the mess of tree branches all around them.

"Then you stay with him and I'll search," Kurenai decided. She didn't wait for an answer and took off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Outside the base~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was almost evening when the two groups finally found each other. Dragging Tenzo to the camp Hana had set took a bit longer, so by the time everybody was at one place it was already dark. Their group was in a sorry state. They could only hope that they wouldn't be attacked, because they had only three people who were in the state to put up a fight.

Hinata awoke shortly after the teams were reunited. Hana, who by now was about to succumb to her injuries and exhaustion, checked her over briefly and declared her healthy enough. Then she enlisted her help in taking care of the wounded. But with their injuries already treated, there was little to do beside sit and watch for some change in their condition. Soon everybody who could went to sleep, only those who were on guard duty remaining awake.

Hinata sat nearby the sleeping people, others, looking like misery personified. She obviously needed someone to comfort her, but Shino was still unconscious, Kiba had fussed over his injured sister and her dogs until he exhausted himself and fell asleep and Kurenai, as the person in the best condition, was doing her best to provide security for their small camp. Naruto realized that it was up to him. He walked up to the girl and sat down next to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked. She sighed and looked down. For a moment it seemed she wouldn't answer, but then she spoke.

"I'm sorry I messed up," Hinata said, looking like a kicked puppy. Kurenai-sensei had tried to cheer her up earlier, but it had little effect.

"What do you mean?" the boy inquired.

"I told Kiba to release the prisoners."

"You just wanted to help."

"It was naive of me," Hinata said, her eyes downcast. "I really thought they'd be grateful to us..."

"Don't feel so down about it," Naruto advised her. "It was a logical assumption. But Orochimaru's people are fanatics. Logic doesn't apply to them."

"I should have known. I've heard about that, but..." she trailed off.

"It's one thing to hear about it and another to live through it," Naruto said. "Some things are hard to believe until you see them with your own eyes."

"I nearly got us killed," Hinata said.

"That happens to everyone," Naruto said. "You survived, so you can learn from the experience." The girl nodded, but she didn't look convinced.

"I failed our first C-rank," she said after a moment of silence. "Father is going to be so disappointed.

"What do you mean, you failed the mission?" Naruto questioned. "It was a trap from the beginning. It was impossible to complete. And there were four of you, five if you count Akamaru. Every one of them could have noticed the trap but didn't. Don't take responsibility for everything that happened."

"If I just used my Byakugan, I could have spotted the trap."

"As I said, there were four others who could have spotted the trap. Don't blame yourself. And even if you did spot the trap, then what? Weren't there too many enemies for you to defeat?"

"We could have avoided them."

"Maybe, maybe not," Naruto shrugged.

"I should have been better." Hinata was still depressed.

"You did well," Naruto tried to cheer her up. "You downed that one man so they couldn't carry you away before I got to you."

"I still feel it wasn't enough. I should have been able to take him down. I'm a Hyuuga. The Main Family. I'm supposed to be strong. To complete all missions without trouble."

"It doesn't work that way," Naruto said. "Unpredictable stuff happens all the time. Do you want to hear about how I messed up on my first C-rank?" Hinata looked a bit interested, so he told her. The girl listened attentively. She made a horrified gasp when he got to the part where he fell off the cliff. "Don't look so scared," Naruto told her. "I'm still here." Hinata nodded.

"I wish I were as strong as you," she said forlornly.

"It isn't fun as it sounds," Naruto replied. Hinata looked at him questioningly. She didn't like the expression in his face when he said it. As if he was recalling something unspeakably terrible. She wanted to ask, but something told her she rather shouldn't. She most certainly wouldn't like the answer.

"How can I be strong?" she asked instead, just to break the awkward silence. She immediately wondered why did she say this of all things. She? Strong? Everybody agreed that she was weak, and that included her. Being strong was an impossible dream.

"First you must believe you can be strong," Naruto answered. Hinata found herself listening attentively. Maybe he'll say something that'd actually work? "If you believe you'll fail, then you'll fail."

"How can I believe I can be strong?"

"Uh..." Naruto scratched his head. He wasn't very good at giving sage advice and he had already met his quota for today. "Just think of all you've accomplished. Then think of what more you can do." Hinata looked down. She hadn't accomplished much. Naruto realized that he had said the wrong thing, though he didn't understand why. But he felt he should do something before the girl broke down crying. He did the only thing that came to mind: he hugged Hinata around the shoulders. The girl stiffened for a bit and then blushed deep red. Naruto couldn't see it thanks to her hair covering her face. "You are strong. Don't forget it."

Hinata's heart sped up. A boy was hugging her and telling her nice things? What was it? Could it be... she didn't almost dare to think about it ... that he liked her? No, Hinata told herself, he barely knew her. He was just being nice and trying to cheer her up. She shouldn't read more into it. But she had to admit that this was like a scene from a fairy tale. A hero had saved her and now he was sitting next to her. All that was missing was a declaration of love and then they would live happily ever after. Only this wasn't a fairy tale and there won't be the happy end. Or even the declaration of love. Once they'd return to Konoha he'd leave on another mission and she'd have to return to her clan, to her father's cold eyes and Neji-niisan's hateful ones and Hanabi's condescending ones. This fairy tale moment will become only a distant memory. But it was a memory she was going to cherish, that much she knew for sure.

Then Naruto let go of her and Hinata felt a sense of loss. She wished he'd hold her longer, perhaps even never let her go, but it wasn't to be. He didn't like her that way. And why would he? She was just plain little Hinata, not strong, not beautiful. But she hoped that Naruto would do it again.

She wanted to say something to bring the fairy tale moment back, but she was interrupted by a whine. One of the Haimaru triplets moved in his sleep and that made his wound hurt. Hinata walked over to him and patted his head trying to comfort him. The dog soon quieted down. When the animal fell back asleep, Naruto was no longer in the camp, having left to patrol the surroundings. Hinata sighed. Of course he wouldn't stay with her, he had other duties to attend to. They belonged into different worlds. But she still hoped she'd see him again. Even if it was from a distance.

Shino woke up the next morning. He felt groggy, but Hana was certain that he'd recover fully. The young Aburame was feeling down because a part of his hive died as a result of whatever the Sound jailors had used on him. But enough of his kikaichuu had survived for the colony to recover. And as a nice bonus some of those he had spread all over the base went undiscovered and now could supply valuable info about the enemy. Especially the general location of one of Orochimaru's bases sounded useful.

Shortly after that they were approached by another Konoha team who had noticed the cloud of dust caused by the base collapsing and came to investigate. That helped the teams solve the problem how to get back to Konoha when they had so many wounded. Everybody was grateful for it. This nightmare of a mission was finally over.

* * *

That's it for today. and this time without a cliffhanger for a change.

Next time: The gears of wars shift. And many characters make a reappearance.


	54. Attack!

**Author's note: **After so many of you asked so nicely, here comes another chapter. Sorry it took so long. I don't have any excuse why it took so long besides a writer's block and general laziness. Before somebody asks, this story is going to continue. I have it planned and even a lot of material prewritten to the point where Naruto is twelve. There are just some parts that are hard to write and some of them happen to be in this arc and the following one. I'll do my best to finish the next chapter soon, but I don't know when exactly it is going to be.

Also this arc reintroduces some characters that have appeared before. Check my DA profile for their pictures and brief description if you have trouble recalling who they are. Check it anyway, because there is a new illustration there.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I still haven't made enough money to buy him.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Training grounds~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ever since the idea had first occurred to Naruto in the underground base, it refused to leave his mind. What if he could make the Rasengan using Wind elemental chakra? The possibilities were just too awesome not to try. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, but he never let things like this deter him. So once he found a quiet while for himself, he headed for the training grounds, ready to begin experimenting.

He decided to begin just like he had with the original jutsu. For that purpose he brought a set of water balloons. He didn't bring any rubber ones, he figured he wouldn't be moving beyond step one today. He picked one and concentrated Wind chakra in his palm.

Pop. The water poured out of the broken balloon. Naruto blinked. That had been fast. He hadn't even begun spinning. Then he smacked himself in the forehead, cursing his own stupidity. Of course the balloon would pop. Wind chakra cut it. That meant that the water balloons were completely useless for the training. He really should have realized that earlier. It would have spared him the time and money wasted gathering them.

He threw one of the balloons away in annoyance. It smashed against a tree with a satisfying splash. Naruto sighed. So much for the balloons. So what was he supposed to do now? Nothing smart occurred to him, so he decided to proceed as if he was using the balloons, only without them. (That made perfect sense to him.)

He extended his arm, palm upwards, and gathered Wind chakra. Then he began spinning it. He couldn't see what he was doing. But there was one way to find out. He slammed his palm into the trunk of a nearby tree. Then he examined the result. There were cuts in the bark and they were shaped like a spiral. But they weren't deep and there weren't many of them. It reminded Naruto of some of his earliest attempts to learn the Rasengan. But well, it wasn't like he had expected immediate results. With that thought he resumed his training in earnest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The members of Team Tenzo were enjoying their third week of quiet stay in Konoha when they received the order to move out and head towards a base in northern Fire Country. That was a pretty normal situation. The only problem was that Tenzo was still recovering from his near complete chakra exhaustion and couldn't go with them. But it wasn't the first time they had to undertake a mission without their sensei, so they just packed their gear and set on the way. What wasn't so normal was that halfway there they were met by Jiraiya.

"Hey, brat," The Toad Sage greeted before turning his attention to the two kunoichi, which he began ogling shamelessly. Especially Hotaru. "And beautiful ladies..."

"Pervert," Naruto scoffed. Jiraiya shot him a dirty look.

"Don't speak ill of me in front of the ladies."

"You really are a pervert," Hotaru said.

"I'm not a pervert," Jiraiya corrected. "I'm a super-pervert!"

"And you admit it in front of the girls?" Naruto questioned.

"Is this really one of Konoha's strongest ninja?" Hana questioned, while her dogs growled dangerously.

"I'm afraid so," Naruto sighed. "Anyway, what are you doing here?" the boy asked before Jiraiya could say something.

"I was just passing by so I decided to visit you before the offensive starts."

"An offensive?" Naruto sounded excited. His teammates weren't as enthusiastic, but even they couldn't keep calm upon hearing the news. "Good. This war has been going nowhere for too long. Finally we're going to kick them out of the Fire Country." His teammates didn't seem quite so happy.

"Let's hope we're going to kick them and not the other way around," Hotaru muttered darkly.

"Why now?" Hana inquired, once more showing she was the most level-headed out of the whole team. Usually.

"Remember how you saved Kurenai's team a while back?" Everybody nodded. "Well, it turned out that the failure of Kumo's latest attempt to obtain the Byakugan and the death of several important shinobi of theirs made some people in Kumo question the Raikage's competence. And they also had a falling out with Orochimaru and the Hidden Sound. So now the Raikage is a bit preoccupied with internal opposition and doesn't pay so much attention to the war. They're just holding positions now."

"So we're attacking Kumo?" Naruto asked. It sounded like the logical option, but they weren't heading towards Lightning Country.

"No," Jiraiya shook his head. "If we did that, the Kumo factions would quickly set aside their differences and rejoin the war with vigor. They might even make up with Orochimaru. So we'll just leave them to their internal struggles and attack elsewhere."

"Where? Iwa? Ame?"

"I don't know whether you've heard about it, but there is something strange going on in Rain Country," Jiraiya informed them. Naruto just shook his head. Hana looked thoughtful.

"I might have heard some rumors, but I don't really know anything."

"Nobody really knows what's going on," the Sannin explained. "Just that Ame decided to pull out of the war."

"That's tough, considering their location," Hotaru commented. Ame was right between three of the warring countries.

"It is," Jiraiya agreed. "And of course Iwa wasn't happy about it."

"I can imagine that," Hana muttered.

"They sent an envoy to tell the leader of Hidden Rain to straighten his act, but the whole group never came back."

"That had to piss off Iwa even more," Naruto commented. He couldn't imagine the Tsuchikage would just let it slide.

"It did," Jiraiya confirmed with a nod. "But they couldn't do much about it. Odd things happen in Rain Country. Iwa can't send their troops through there freely anymore. Too many of them are never heard from again. Even we and Suna have lost shinobi there under mysterious circumstances."

"So we'll attack there?" Naruto asked, now sounding more worried than excited. Rain Country sounded scary.

"No," the Toad Sage shook his head. "Our target is elsewhere. Iwa's base in northern River Country. This is where they support their operations in Fire and Wind Countries from. If it falls, they won't be able to rebuild it and the war moves away from our territories."

"That sounds simple," Naruto remarked. "So experience is telling me that it isn't going to be."

"Tiny," Hana said ominously, "you shouldn't say such things. Now it's going to be a nightmare." Nobody disagreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha's base~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fortress was bustling with life. That was Naruto's first impression upon arriving at the stronghold where the allied forces of Konoha and Suna were gathering before the attack on the Iwa base. Everybody was busy checking their equipment, getting in some last-minute training and catching up with friends they haven't seen in a while and might not see again once the battle starts. Even Team Tenzo was looking around for any sign of somebody familiar. Naruto was the first one to spot a friend.

"Anko!" Naruto exclaimed when he recognized a familiar face in the crowd. The purple-haired woman turned to him.

"Brat!" she exclaimed. "Where have you been? It's been so long since I last saw you. You didn't even congratulate me on making full jounin."

"You made full jounin?" Naruto was surprised. "Congratulations! When did it happen?"

"Almost half a year ago," Anko answered.

"I can't believe you actually made it," the chuunin shook his head. "It must be the lowered standards for wartime promotions."

"Watch it!" Anko scowled.

"I'm sorry! It's great that you're a jounin!" the boy apologized hastily.

"Yeah, I thought it was going to be great," Anko grimaced.

"What's wrong?"

"This is wrong!" the woman pointed behind her. Only then Naruto noticed that there were three children trailing behind her. "As soon as I made jounin, I got saddled with them!"

"So you're a jounin-sensei now?" Naruto just had to ask because even seeing it he had trouble believing it.

"Yes. And this is Team 4. But I prefer calling them Team Cannon-fodder. They're hopeless. They would have never made genin if we weren't short on manpower." The three genin didn't look too happy with their sensei's assessment of them.

"I was the fourth best kunoichi in our year!" the girl of Team 4 stated proudly.

"Considering the competition this isn't an achievement to be proud of, Ami," Anko commented.

"I'm strong. I'm good with traps," Ami insisted.

"You mean you're not completely useless," Anko corrected. The genin kunoichi scowled, but didn't dare to talk back to her sensei. Anko had beaten the tendency out of her during their first month together. "Fortunately it doesn't matter that they're so useless. They'll be leaving tomorrow."

"We won't be here for the attack?" one of the boys asked. His tone was both relieved and disappointed.

"Of course not, Tobio. You'd just get slaughtered," Anko informed him sweetly. Tobio looked mildly offended, but didn't say a thing. "And now go get some rest. You're leaving early morning." Team 4 obediently left.

After the three genin disappeared from their sight, Naruto asked: "Are they really so bad?"

"Well," Anko scratched her head, "Ami really isn't bad with traps, Tobio has an interesting fighting style with two knives, he just has to refine it and work on his speed and strength and everything and Kouta, well, he has just the Academy basics, though he has the most physical strength out of the team. But that doesn't mean anything. So yes, they're pretty bad. But I'm going to turn them into fine shinobi yet. Or kill them trying." Naruto wondered which possibility was likelier to happen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The base~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day a convoy of Suna forces arrived. The barely organized chaos inside the outpost increased twofold. Among the mingling crowds Naruto saw a face he hadn't seen in years.

"Gaara!" he exclaimed.

"Naruto," the redhead replied. It sounded completely flat and unemotional. Yet Naruto was sure that his friend was glad to see him.

"How are you doing?" the blond boy inquired. "And who are they?" he looked at Gaara's two companions.

"This is my sister Temari and this is my brother Kankurou," the redhead introduced them.

"Pleased to meet you," the girl smiled, but it was forced. Both she and Kankurou were eying Naruto warily.

"Pleased to meet you too," Naruto smiled back, hoping that it would put them at ease. It didn't work. They still couldn't forget that he was the one who had once defeated Gaara, who seemed like an undefeatable force of nature to them. Naruto naturally had no idea what was going through their heads, so he was confused by their reaction.

"Why do they look so scared?" he asked.

"I don't look scared," Kankurou protested, but it wasn't very convincing.

"They're like that often," Gaara said.

"Huh?" Naruto blinked. Though it wasn't odd for shinobi to get scared occasionally, because there was a lot to be scared of during a war, being scared often wasn't normal. A ninja like that would sooner or later freeze during a fight and that was usually the last thing the shinobi ever did.

"They usually perform adequately," the redhead stated. Naruto realized that it was all he was going to hear on this topic, so he decided to change it.

"So how's life going?" he asked. "I haven't gotten a letter in ages..." then he looked a bit embarrassed. "I haven't written in ages either," he admitted. Gaara took it with a nod. Wartime wasn't good for writing letters. There was little time for it and the intelligence department had the nasty habit of reading them first and censoring them. Most shinobi didn't like it, but they understood why it was necessary.

"We've successfully completed many missions and weren't wounded." Gaara's conversation abilities hadn't improved much in the time Naruto hadn't seen them.

"I'm glad to hear it," the blond boy smiled. "We've been successfully completing missions too, but unfortunately I can't say the same about being wounded. At least everybody healed." Gaara didn't reply. His siblings weren't any help in keeping up the conversation either. Naruto had to manage on his own.

"So how do you think it's going to go tomorrow?" It wasn't the best choice of question. Everybody looked grimly in the direction of the Iwa base. They couldn't see it from their position, but they could imagine its ominous presence.

"Gaara can squash them," Kankurou said after a while of heavy silence. A slight tremble in his voice betrayed that he was trying to convince himself. He usually had full trust in his younger brother's abilities, but this was a lot bigger than any opponent they have faced before. "Turn them into bloody mincemeat. Can't you, Gaara?" The redhead nodded. And then it was quiet again. Naruto wondered what should he ask next that wouldn't be awkward. Was Gaara a chuunin yet? He wasn't wearing the vest, but that meant nothing. And if he wasn't, asking about it would be rubbing it in.

"What's up with the make up?" he asked when the silence grew too long. It probably was one of the least tactful questions he could have asked, but it was better than something. And Kankurou's appearance did intrigue him.

"Make-up?" the puppeteer bristled. "This is traditional Suna warpaint! It scares the enemies away."

"What's so scary about it?" Naruto questioned. "You look like a clown. And if it is so traditional, why have I never seen another Suna ninja wearing it?"

"Now listen you little..." Kankurou growled angrily, making a threatening step towards Naruto. The Konoha boy slid into a defensive stance instinctively.

"Kankurou!" Temari grabbed her brother's arm and squeezed it furiously, snapping him from his angry fit. If he had momentarily forgotten who they were facing, she didn't. This situation could get very ugly very fast and they wouldn't know about it because they would be dead. It was a very stupid thing to threaten a jinchuuriki. Even after Gaara's attitude had improved, he was still very swift to deal with perceived threats to himself and his team. Kankurou seemed to realize it too. He probably paled, but it was hard to tell under his thick make-up. He took two hasty steps back.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to..."

"Nothing happened," Naruto replied, relaxing from his battle stance. Temari and Kankurou watched him as if they weren't sure he actually meant it. He was a bit puzzled by the Suna team's behavior. Gaara's siblings were seriously weird.

"Here you are," a new voice interrupted the already halting conversation. Naruto looked up to see a jounin he remembered from Suna. Temari and Kankurou looked happy to see him. Much happier than the situation called for, the Konoha chuunin noted.

"Baki-sensei!" the girl said, sounding relieved.

"What is the matter?" Gaara inquired, his voice devoid of any feelings.

"There will be a briefing in half an hour," the tattooed jounin announced. "You should get settled into your tents before that."

"The briefing!" Naruto realized with a start. He had almost forgotten about that. He was curious to know what kind of strategy had the command come up with. And he secretly hoped that they didn't assign him some crucial role.

"We should go," Temari said hurriedly and Kankurou nodded in agreement. He didn't even wait for a confirmation and started walking away.

"They really are scared," Naruto muttered. Then something occurred to him. "Hey, are you scared of me?" he asked a bit louder. Kankurou yelped, as if caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Temari merely paled a bit. "Why?" Naruto didn't understand. He didn't think he was that scary. The two older Kazekage's children looked at him as if he was stupid. To them it was unbelievable how somebody could not fear him.

"It's just twenty-six minutes now," Baki interjected, cutting the conversation short.

"I'll see you later," Gaara said.

"Yes. I'll see you too. After the briefing. Bye!" Gaara nodded. And then they went their separate ways.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Elsewhere in the base~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We'll overcome those unyouthful Rocks with the Power of our Youth!" a loud man's voice bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"We'll melt them with our Blazing Spirits!" Another man's voice tried valiantly to outdo him.

People turned to where the voices were coming from. There they saw two men: one in a green leotard and a Konoha flak jacket, the other in a yellow tiger-striped suit and a Suna flak jacket. Maito Gai of Konoha and Youkou of Suna had gravitated towards each other in an inevitable manner, sensing a kindred soul.

"Oh no, there are two of them," somebody groaned. The sentence perfectly summed up the feelings of the assembled shinobi, no matter what village they were from.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near Iwa's fortress~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara watched the enemy fortress impassively. Even in the dark he could see that it was much bigger and a lot more dangerous than any enemy he had faced before, but that didn't bother him. He had the power of Shukaku at his command. That was a power much worse than anything the Iwa garrison could throw at them. And they were soon going to realize it.

"_**Yes!" **_the tanuki's voice cried in excitement. _**"Give me their blood! I want blood!" **_Once Gaara would have given in to its demands, forgetting about the plan and squeezing somebody in his sands, it didn't matter whom. But not anymore. He didn't believe that the One Tail was his mother anymore. He didn't obey it. He obeyed only himself. And Baki-sensei and the Kazekage (don't call him father) if he had to. Tonight he was going to be on his best behavior, following his instructions down to a tee. Only if everything went right, there wouldn't be too many casualties on their side.

His eyes and thoughts drifted to the two figures standing beside him. Temari. Kankurou. Once virtual strangers, but during the last year they had become real siblings. It hadn't been easy. At first they hadn't trusted him, not believing that a monster could change so much in such a short time, but after the war started and they were made a team, they spent almost all their time together. They trained together, they took missions together. After Gaara saved their lives a couple of times, they finally accepted that he meant well and warmed up towards him. It still took several months after that, but they grew really close. It was mainly because of them that Gaara didn't want to endanger the strategy.

"_**I want blood!" **_the Ichibi pouted in his head.

"_You will get it,"_ Gaara promised. _"Later."_

"_**I want it now!"**_ the demon demanded. It sounded like a petulant toddler. His vessel ignored him. He had more important matters to worry about.

The tendrils of his power reached the walls. So far, everything was quiet there. Most of its inhabitants slept soundly and the guards patrolling the perimeter were calm too. They had no idea that his power was already working its magic underneath them. But soon they would find out just what exactly he did. But by that time it would be already too late for them.

Then a shout of alarm sounded from the stronghold. Gaara startled. Did they notice his work? Or was it something else? But the surroundings of the fortress were still quiet, only inside the Iwa ninja began rousing and running to their posts. Well, it didn't matter to him. Even if they did detect his presence, something a chakra sensor was capable of doing, they couldn't stop him. He just stood calmly and continued his work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha and Suna forces command center~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"They've noticed."

"Well, it would have been nice if they didn't, but we didn't really count on that."

"Let's just progress with the plan. Give the signal."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near the fortress walls~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was slowly making his way forward. He suppressed his chakra and concentrated on becoming invisible. He knew that should his technique fail, he would be sitting duck. There was nothing to take cover behind this close to the enemy fortress. The Iwa ninja had made sure of that to prevent surprise attacks. And destroying all cover wasn't all they did. He had passed several traps on his way here, only barely avoiding springing a couple of them. He could fall right into another one any moment. Or he could just trip some kind of detection seal and there would be jutsu raining on his unprotected back any moment now.

He took several deep breaths to compose himself. Fear would only hinder him. He knew that this was as close to a suicide mission as he ever got, hell, it probably was a suicide mission, but he understood the strategic importance of what he was doing. The Iwa forces were at a great advantage as long as they were behind their tall, thick walls. Many Konoha and Suna ninja would die if they just attacked and there was no guarantee that they would be able to break through. That was why the walls had to come down first.

And that was where they came in. The human weapons. Naruto really hated thinking like that, but he understood the strategic need. Somebody had to tear down the walls and there were only three people in the joint Konoha/Suna alliance camp with the power to do so. Gaara was probably already working his magic, slowly turning the bedrock under the fortress to sand. But it was going to take him a long time to finish. Naruto hoped that he'd have the time to do so and his part in the plan wouldn't be so crucial.

A loud cry from the Iwa fortress informed him that his prayers went unfulfilled. He froze for a moment. Had he been spotted? Or did something else tip the Rock shinobi off? Considering he couldn't detect any deadly jutsu heading for him yet, it was probably the second possibility. But he couldn't count on remaining undetected much longer. Now the enemy was on alert, they'd have a much easier time discovering him. He increased his pace, trying to cover as much ground as he could before it happened.

Then a red flare lit the sky. Their signal to attack. He abandoned all attempts at stealth and sprinted forward. The wall was just a short distance from him now.

As he ran, he smeared some blood over the red line. The familiar unwelcome sensation of red fire coursing through his veins came immediately. The chakra cloak formed around him and two tails sprouted from his back. Naruto hated it, but he understood the need. A shout informed him that he had been spotted at the same time as he stepped into a pit trap. He just hit the ground around the pit with his tails and chakra claws and sprung forward, leaving the trap behind. Then he finally reached the wall and struck at it with all his might.

It was a testament to the builders' skill that the wall held, Naruto's attacks making only a small dent into it. Well, it wouldn't be considered a small dent on any other wall, but the sheer size of the fortress wall made it appear so. Then there were boulders raining at him from the sky. Naruto swung his tails and batted them away. Then flames tried to fry him, but they had just as little success as the boulders. Naruto ignored them and pounded at the wall, breaking off chunks of stone. Then rocks fell again followed by kunai with Exploding Tags and then the ground beneath his feet turned into a swamp, threatening to swallow him. Naruto swore. He couldn't stay there anymore.

He sprung upwards, his chakra claws biting into the smooth stone wall. He climbed fast. The Iwa ninja tried to stop him, but he dodged their first barrage of jutsu and what he couldn't dodge was stopped by his chakra cloak. Then he was on top. He was alone in the heart of an enemy stronghold, but it didn't bother him one bit. Though considering the giant toad sitting on the wall he could see out of the corner of his eye, he wasn't completely alone. But Jiraiya and his summons were far away so they didn't really count. It didn't matter anyway. What mattered was that there were enemies to kill everywhere. And they were already readying themselves to kill him, so he should make haste when disposing of them. Deep inside his mind the Kyuubi growled approvingly. Naruto swung his tails, smashing them into a small group of shinobi who tried to sneak behind his back. Then he sprung forward and tore into those trying to fire jutsu at him.

This went on for a while. Naruto had lost count of how many Iwa ninja he had ripped apart. The bloodlust was intoxicating. Kyuubi was cackling madly. Naruto wanted to smack him and push him back into the seal, but he knew that if he did so, he'd be killed within seconds. Now there were only competent Iwa shinobi facing him and he was having trouble fighting them. And did he already mention that the bloodlust was intoxicating? He wanted to pull on more of Kyuubi's power, but whatever sanity he could keep in this state was telling him that he'd lose control if he did so. But it also couldn't deny that he'd get killed if this kept up for much longer.

It was hard to use jutsu in this state, but Naruto tried anyway. His attempt at Fuuton: Daitoppa gave him a brief respite when it blew away a good portion of his enemies. But it didn't kill them, because he failed to sharpen his chakra enough. Kyuubi's chakra was more suited for Fire, a part of his mind remembered. So fire was what he used next. The fireball fried three ninja too slow to dodge but before it could do more damage, a stone spike slammed into Naruto's side. His technique was disrupted by the pain. He was thrown into the crowd of enemy ninja. It felt like there was a big hole in his side, but he could already feel it mending. He rose from the ground only to have an Earth Dragon slam into him. He was thrown around again, this time landing on the outer wall of the fortress. That reminded him of something. Wasn't he supposed to destroy it? He couldn't remember.

But what he knew very well was that he was losing this fight.

"_**Kill them kill them kill them kill them!"**_ Kyuubi chanted in his mind. _**"Take more of my power!"**_ It was a very tempting offer and Naruto was about to accept. He knew that he'd lose control, but if he didn't do it he'd lose his life. He tried to figure out which was the lesser evil, but it was so hard to think with Kyuubi's rage clouding his mind. Then the wall under him suddenly collapsed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Jiraiya~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He saw the wall collapse. That didn't unsettle him. It just meant that things were going according to the plan for the time being. What did unsettle him was that he stopped feeling the Kyuubi's chakra shortly after it happened. He wondered what did it mean. Did Naruto suppress it on his own volition once his job was done and he didn't need it anymore? Or did it mean he was hurt or even dead?

"What are you doing, Jiraiya?" Gamabunta scolded him, using his sword to block an attack headed for the Sannin's exposed back. "You can't space out in the middle of a battle!"

"Sorry," the Toad Sage smiled sheepishly, using his long white hair to bind and squeeze to death an Iwa shinobi who had sneaked too close. "I'm just worried about Naruto."

"This isn't a good time to be worried," the Boss Toad pointed out, using his sword to cut an approaching Iwagakure ninja in half from above. Unfortunately the man dodged and Gamabunta only broke the floor.

"I know," Jiraiya replied, slamming a Rasengan into a Rock jounin who came too close. But he couldn't help it, he had to worry. He wished he had let Naruto sign the Toad Contract before the battle began. That way he could be reverse-summoned out of danger once his job was done. But he had considered the boy too young for it and now Naruto was stuck in the middle of enemy territory with nobody to back him up, at least until the attacking forces would make it there. And that was still going to take at least one minute, which could easily be a minute more than his godson had. He decided that if they both survived the battle, he'd let the boy sign the contract. He would be safer that way.

An explosion shook the ground nearby, shaking him from his musings and reminding him just what danger they all were in. Jiraiya couldn't take it anymore. He had to go and see what had happened to Naruto. His fingers flashed through handseals and an Earth Dragon formed and cleared a path through the enemy lines. Jiraiya immediately started that way, but before he could get far an explosion blocked his path. Only a quickly performed Hari Jizou saved him from serious injuries. Once he let his hair retract, he could see an Iwa ninja charging at him. And judging from his chakra he was one of the strongest fighters here. Jiraiya sighed. Getting through this one was going to take time.

'Sorry, Naruto, it seems you're on your own.'

* * *

That's it for today.

**Next time: **The battle continues and some Konoha shinobi meet their Suna counterparts. (That's something I wanted to write for a long time.)


	55. Fight for the fortress

**Author's note:** Next chapter is here, and it's the longest one yet, though not by much. I'm still working on the next one, so I don't know when it will be out. It shouldn't take long.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. If you think I do, I have shares in Gatou Shipping Company to sell. Buy quick, their price is going to skyrocket soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near the Iwa fortress~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They raced across the open fields. Everybody was pumping as much chakra as they could into their legs. Nobody wanted to stay on the deadly ground for any longer then they absolutely had to, mostly because they didn't want to serve as practice dummies for some of Iwa's nastier jutsu. The haste had cost many of them dearly when they had run straight into the traps littering the ground. But they still pressed on.

Hana had another reason to rush. Her teammate was out there. Completely alone. Her mind was full of horror images of what could be happening to him right now. That was the main reason why she was here instead of in the back with the other medics. The rational part of her mind was telling her that it was unwise, but she told it to shut up. Her teammate was in danger and she was going to do everything in her power to get him out of there in one piece. She shot a sideways glance at Hotaru, who was running next to her. Judging by the determined expression on the purple-haired kunoichi's face, she was thinking the same.

And so they ran. The fortress walls, looming ominously in front of them, were becoming bigger and bigger. Even the collapsed part did little to make them seem less threatening. They could already recognize the individual shinobi standing atop them, even in the insufficient light. The thought was quickly followed by the realization that the Iwa shinobi could now see them well too and that they were going to get within jutsu-firing distance any moment now. Almost as soon as she thought it the first technique was cast. It was a Fuuton, a bit unusual among Rock shinobi, but nothing really odd. It only ruffled her hair at this distance, but some of her allies who had been closer to it stumbled. And then more techniques followed. The battle was on.

The attacking army quickly responded with their jutsu. First somebody from Suna swung a giant fan, knocking several Iwa ninja off the walls. Then somebody joined with a Katon, but it fell a bit short of its target. A bunch of small explosions showed where several Exploding Tags had landed. The Iwa defenders responded with an avalanche of giant round stones. Hotaru and Hana dodged at the last moment, but some of their comrades weren't so lucky. And then they were almost at the breach in the wall.

It was one of the Haimaru siblings who realized the danger first, and that was because he stepped into it. His paws sank into the ground and he yelped in surprise and fear. And he was sinking lower and lower fast. The two kunoichi stopped at the spot, concentrating chakra to their feet to stick to the ground. Hana grabbed the trapped dog's tail and pulled him out. Fortunately nothing was holding him down. They all looked at the swamp that now lay between them and the opening in the wall.

"Can we walk over it?" Hana mused.

"I wouldn't risk it," Hotaru replied. Techniques like this usually didn't allow water-walking on top of them. And it was too wide to jump over. Then they noticed two Suna ninja on the other side, already engaging the other army.

"How did they get there?" the Inuzuka wondered. At that moment a Konoha ninja appeared at the other side.

"Shunshin?"

"Kawarimi!" Hana recognized. There was enough rubble to switch themselves with. A water missile shot at them, but they were already going through the seals for the Substitution Jutsu, trying to be as thorough with it as they could because it was a tad bit too far. The Suiton hit only rocks.

Hana and Hotaru appeared on the other side. Immediately they were engaged by Rock Ninja. Hotaru launched a Raiton technique and stunned the two closest to her. Her sword made short work of finishing them off. Hana slashed her nails turned into claws at the neck of the closest. It hit home. The man clutched his throat as blood poured from his cut carotid. Then she looked at the cluster of obviously lower-ranked ninja facing her. A Gatsuuga seemed to be in order.

She signaled to her companions only to notice they weren't with her. A stab of panic shot through her heart. Where were the Haimaru? Then she noticed them on the other side of the swamp, running around and whining forlornly. She slammed her forehead. How could she have been so stupid? Of course her ninken weren't as good at Kawarimi as she was, so they got stuck on the other side. She was a disgrace to the Inuzuka clan. Abandoning her dogs was something that just wasn't done, no matter what. When her mother found out about this... It was a lot scarier prospect than all the ninja facing her now.

"Pay attention!" Hotaru screamed. Hana's head slapped back to the danger in front of them. The cluster of Iwa chuunin and genin was almost upon them. Hana growled. She might be alone, but she was far from defenseless. A quick Katon fried the closest enemies. Hotaru's sword flashed and took care of the two who dodged in her direction.

Somebody appeared at Hana's other side. Her first instinct was to attack, but then she noticed the Konoha uniform the man was wearing. She let him deal with his batch of opponents and turned to deal with the few who jumped over the burned bodies of their comrades.

She felt naked without her canine partners. She was good enough to hold her own against enemies of this level, but the absence of her dogs was constantly felt like a sore wound and it disrupted her concentration. 'Focus,' she ordered herself, but that was easier said than done. She just barely dodged a kunai slash and then stumbled as she stepped on a loose rock. This shouldn't happen to a kunoichi of her abilities.

She stabbed the man, but she couldn't recover her lost balance. As the downed opponent fell, she fell with him. And he was immediately replaced with two more. Hana kicked at the knees of the closer one, but the hard-faced woman stepped around it easily. Her companion lifted a staff over his head, prepared to finish Hana. Dodging this was going to be hard.

Then a grey body slammed into the man, knocking him off balance. Another one joined it, sinking its teeth deep into the man's upper arm and dragging him down. The third one bothered the Iwa kunoichi. Hana rejoiced internally. Haimaru were here! She used the brief reprieve to jump to her feet and shot a look over a shoulder. Somebody had used a Doton jutsu to create a bridge over the swamp and now Konoha and Suna ninja were pouring over it, pressing the Iwa defenders. She quickly disposed of the Rock woman, her dogs having already finished the man and rejoined Hotaru in the fighting.

"Now we're going to show them!" the Inuzuka cheered. Boasts like this were more Tsume's and Kiba's thing, but Hana felt this occasion called for it. Hotaru nodded. Her spirits were lifted by the sudden influx of allies too.

But they were celebrating too soon. The Iwa ninja had put up a strong defense. Now an Earth Rampart blocked their way and the lines of shinobi standing atop it were determined not to let them even one more step further into their base. Breaking through this was going to take quite some time. And Naruto was still stuck on the other side. That sucked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Rubble~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everything hurt. It was a disturbingly familiar sensation to Naruto. So what had he done this time to end up in such a state? He opened his eyes. He couldn't see much, but that was because there was a wooden board blocking his vision. He removed it, his arms protesting against being used. He still couldn't see much, this time because it was dark outside. He could see the sky high above him, a few stars shining faintly through smoke. All around him was rubble and dead bodies. It was no surprise considering he could hear a battle going on close by.

Now Naruto could remember what had he been doing, namely tearing Iwa ninja apart aided by Kyuubi's power. But it didn't explain why he was lying on the ground among corpses and debris when the last thing he could recall he had been up on the wall and the enemies around him were too much alive. And then there was something about falling. So the wall had collapsed after all. Naruto wasn't sure how did it happen. Was it Gaara's work? Or did some other ally blow it up? He didn't know, he was just certain that it wasn't his work, even if that was exactly what he had been supposed to do. But it was very hard to remember his orders while under the influence of Kyuubi's power. It was all he could do to tell apart friend from foe.

Speaking of which, why wasn't he high on the kitsune's chakra now? He didn't recall pushing it back. Did the flow of chakra stop when he had been knocked out by the fall? Probably. And whatever had been left in his system had been used to heal him, because there was no way he could have survived this fall uninjured.

The sound of footsteps on stones let him know that he wasn't as alone as it had seemed at first. He turned his head towards its source. There he saw the silhouette of a large man heading straight for him. Naruto was unable to tell any details, but he was pretty sure that this one was an enemy. He reached for his sword, despite his muscles' loud protests, only to realize that he wasn't in possession of it anymore. Where did he lose it? He had no idea and it didn't matter nearly as much as the fast approaching hostile.

Naruto pushed himself to his feet. Once he was moving the pain was easier to ignore. The man was almost upon him. Naruto let out a battle cry, activating his Whirlwind Fist. Then he charged. He stumbled over a piece of rock he couldn't see well in the darkness, but it turned out to be a good thing because that way the man's fist passed harmlessly above his head while Naruto's strike drilled into his thigh. The man collapsed with a yell right on top of Naruto. The young chuunin pulled out a kunai and stabbed below the hem of his flak jacket. The man screamed. Naruto stabbed again, this time sharpening the blade with Wind chakra. The man gurgled and went still. Naruto pushed the corpse off him and got to his feet.

He took a moment to survey his surroundings. He could hear the sounds of battle some distance away and the sounds of many feet running, but in his immediate vicinity it was quiet. Had he been so lucky to fall down away from the action? Or had he crawled here unconsciously? He didn't know, he was just happy that he had survived while he was knocked out. If the Iwa ninja had found him while he had been unconscious, he'd be already dead. Good thing the main attack wave had arrived in time to occupy their attention.

He didn't think about what he should do next. There was a battle going on so he was going to fight. His injuries and tiredness didn't matter, he was already getting used to them. He couldn't just stand around when his comrades were fighting and dying. They might even be people he knew. He relieved his victim of his weapon's pouch, his being lost earlier, he couldn't even recall when and where, and headed towards the fighting.

He didn't have to go far. The closest skirmish was going on just behind a big pile of debris. There was a man in Suna uniform fighting off two Iwa ninja. Naruto pulled a shuriken from his pouch, charged it with Wind chakra and threw. It caught the closer Iwa ninja off guard. The shuriken pierced his flak jacket. The man stumbled and fell onto his comrade. The Suna shinobi took the opportunity to finish him off. Naruto didn't stick around and continued on his journey.

Suddenly he stood face to face with a full contingent of Iwa ninja. He paused in shock. Why was he alone here? Weren't the reinforcements already here? No, it seemed they had yet to reach the outer wall, at least most of them. Only a couple of the fastest were already here, mostly getting massacred by the superior Iwa numbers.

It looked like the same fate was about to befall Naruto as the Rock shinobi started throwing kunai and jutsu at him. The boy quickly ducked back avoiding most of the barrage, only getting mildly singed by a Blast Note. 'I'm going to die here, there's just too many of them,' he thought as he heard the Iwa forces approaching. Then his face broke into a grin. 'But there's a lot of me too.'

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he shouted, pushing as much chakra as he could muster into the technique. Even he was surprised when the whole space between him and the enemy was filled with little blond boys. The Iwa shinobi were surprised too and the copies wasted no time in capitalizing on it. The clash was ferocious. Though the clones didn't last long, they took many Rock ninja with them.

'Why didn't I think about this earlier?' Naruto thought. 'If I did this with the Kyuubi's power...' But that was the problem: Kyuubi's chakra generally made it hard to think clearly, especially if he was using two whole tails. And now he could think clearly, he was low on chakra. But being low on chakra wasn't the same as being all out of chakra and he intended to teach the Iwa shinobi the difference. With whatever strength he had left he created one more Shadow Clone.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" he shouted at the same time as his copy called: "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" He had improved quite a lot since he had first tried this combo so even with just two casters the Firestorm was quite potent. Unfortunately it didn't cause much damage because some Rock ninja were smart enough to erect a mud wall to protect their comrades. But it served well to slow their charge down. Therefore Naruto was still standing when the reinforcements finally arrived.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Outskirts of the battlefield~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another section of the fortress collapsed. Gaara decided that it was enough. The Suna and Konoha forces now had several openings they could enter the Iwa stronghold through. And considering that many had already done so, collapsing the building further would only endanger them. And besides watching from the sidelines bored Gaara already. He wanted to take part in the action.

"Let's go," he commanded his teammates. Temari and Kankurou exchanged a worried look behind his back, but they followed him without question. A small part of his mind questioned the wisdom of the action. Using his power on a grand scale over such a distance had drained him considerably. His automatic defense still worked, but he wasn't sure how effectively he would be able to fight should they encounter some tough opposition. But he couldn't stay back. A few minutes earlier he had seen the red haze of the Kyuubi's power die down. That meant Naruto was in trouble and Gaara wasn't going to let his friend down. He owed him too much for that. And he wasn't going into battle alone. Temari and Kankurou were with him and though they were nowhere near his strength, they were no slouches either. Temari had recently made chuunin, just like him, and while Kankurou was still stuck as a genin, it was more thanks to his recklessness than lack of fighting abilities.

At first they could travel fast, encountering no resistance. Then they neared the Iwa fortress and with it the booby-trapped area. They recognized its border easily thanks to the bodies strewn around. Fortunately most of the traps had been sprung or otherwise disabled by now. But Kankurou attached his chakra strings to one of the bodies and sent it as a front scout, just to make sure. It turned out to be a sensible precaution when the corpse puppet tripped a wire mere fifteen paces in, getting a hail of senbon through its stomach.

They encountered two more working traps before they reached the battle itself. The joined forces of Suna and Konoha attackers were locked in a fierce match with Iwa defenders and at the moment nobody was winning. Gaara wasted no time in changing it. The Rock ninja didn't even notice when the sand came alive around their feet. Some were quick enough to jump away, but many got crushed. And then the sand rose and chased after them. Somebody put a Stone Wall in the way, but the sand simply poured over it. Pained shouts informed everybody around that the deadly sand found its victims.

Gaara let his sand fall down and tried not to pant too obviously. He really was tired when even a simple Sand Waterfall was this hard. And the worst thing was that his attack didn't change that much. The allied forces pushed a bit in, but fresh Iwa forces replaced the slain defenders. Well, nobody ever said that conquering this base would be easy. It was the biggest Iwa stronghold outside Earth Country, maybe even the biggest after Iwagakure itself. He could see that walking in and finding Naruto was going to be nigh impossible. Fortunately he had other means at his disposal. He created a platform of sand and hopped on. He gestured to his siblings to do the same. Then he levitated the platform up. It was going to be much easier to search from above and they could even attack from up here, all of them being long-range fighters. Now he just hoped they'd find Naruto in time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Outside the fortress walls~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maito Gai was tempted to shout something. Preferably something like 'take this, you unyouthful Iwa fiend!' but shouting disrupted his breathing pattern and that in turn would mean that he'd be short of energy for the fight and that would be unyouthful. And he had to be as youthful as possible now. It wasn't just because of the battle, though that was important too. The most important thing was the youthful contest he had entered with his new youthful friend from Suna. The contest was simple: Which one of them could kill the most Iwa shinobi? And Youkou-san had an advantage with his Katon jutsu that could burn many of them at once. But Maito Gai didn't complain, that would have been unyouthful. Instead he decided to prove that it was possible to kill just as much enemies using pure taijutsu. He had to make it, just to show his youthful student Rock Lee that it was possible. It would mean so much to him. And so he concentrated on the fight and punching and kicking as hard as he could. Around him Iwa ninja were dropping like flies. He spared a glance towards his new youthful rival, who was much more fun than the insufferably hip Kakashi. Youkou just breathed out a stream of fire, catching two Rock ninja in the blast. That wasn't particularly impressive considering how much chakra that had to cost. He was going to exhaust himself soon and then Gai would win their match by simply outlasting him. Pure taijutsu had its advantages. Maito Gai smiled and kicked through the ribcage of yet another Iwa ninja.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Naruto~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was getting really worried about himself. He had been so relieved when the reinforcements had arrived, but that didn't last for long. The other side had reserves too. Before he realized it, he and four others were isolated from the rest and pushed further into the fortress. And now the last of his allies was dying on the ground and Naruto was once again alone behind the enemy lines. Sometimes his life just sucked.

He slashed his sword at the closest Rock ninja. The man wasn't very familiar with Wind blades and received a cut across his chest. That was less than Naruto had hoped for, but what could he expect from a weapon not meant to channel chakra? He had grabbed an abandoned sword of approximately the same size as his and used it because keeping his Whirlwind Fist active was too draining. But judging from his current situation, chakra exhaustion wasn't going to be an issue. The five Iwa shinobi surrounding him were going to kill him much sooner than exhaustion could. There was no way to defeat them as he was now. But he didn't want to die. Could he afford to use Kyuubi's chakra again? He doubted he'd be able to control it. And if he went berserk, what then? There were only enemies in his vicinity, but once the Nine-tails took control, it would rampage until somebody stopped it. The only one who might have a chance to do so was Jiraiya and he had other problems to take care of. But, he thought as he just barely blocked a thrown kunai, it wasn't like he had much choice. One of the Iwa ninja was running through handseals and though Naruto couldn't tell what jutsu he intended to use, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to block it.

But just as he was readying to call of the demonic chakra again, there was a strong gust of wind from above. The Iwa ninja weren't hurt much, but they were forced to scatter and the jutsu intended for Naruto wend wide. Then a hail of senbon from above struck two of them. The three that avoided the deadly barrage found themselves enveloped in sand and crushed. Naruto looked up and saw a descending platform of sand.

"Gaara!" he exclaimed in relief.

"Come up," the red-haired boy said instead of a greeting. Considering the situation he was in, Naruto didn't hesitate and boarded the platform.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Battlefield~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaede danced. Her long sleeves were whirling around her, causing gusts of deadly sharpened wind to raise and fly at whoever was unlucky enough to get close. She felt like this was what she existed for. Now she was the perfect kunoichi. Beautiful and deadly. Just like Teono-sensei. She felt that the day when she would finally surpass her teacher was close. She made several fast yet elegant steps and waved her arms around. Two more Iwa shinobi stumbled when gashes opened on their bodies. Yes, this was the perfect union of beauty and death. The only thing that marred her perfection was the bulky chuunin vest she had to wear to the battle. Without it her beauty would be peerless. She considered removing it, but the sight of four shuriken embedded in the thick material reminded her that the unsightly garment had its purpose. Without it she could have been already dead four times. It meant that she wasn't as perfect as she strove to be yet. But she was going to be. Eventually. In the meantime she continued her dance of death.

Aoyume Daiki found himself in a pinch. He might possess the strongest Kekkei Genkai in his clan, but here it didn't help him any. The din of the battlefield was so loud that his voice didn't carry. And even if it did, everybody's emotions were so intense that it would be hard for him to change them. Strong bloodlust was very hard to overcome and change into something else. Using genjutsu on many people at once was too taxing on his concentration and nearly impossible to pull off when he had to keep dodging attacks as well. Using it only on one person at a time was useless because there were too many people who wanted to kill him around. And so he had to make do with his kunai and taijutsu alone. And while he was no slouch, he was no close combat specialist either. He just didn't belong to the frontlines, but unfortunately that was when he found himself when an Iwa battalion had pushed into their lines, so he could just fight and do his best to survive.

Gennosuke dodged a kunai. This had been close. He sent his favorite puppet Hisan Uma to deal with the Rock ninja who had thrown it, but controlling a puppet while dodging shuriken and jutsu was hard. A puppeteer should be hidden, making his puppet do all the fighting without exposing himself to danger, but unfortunately a team of Iwa ninja had busted his hiding spot and he couldn't find a new one in the middle of a battle. And hiding inside his puppet limited his field of view and ability to dodge. This sucked. His team wasn't suited for this kind of combat. None of them was a frontline fighter. Kaede was doing the best, but even she was more of a long range fighter. Their team specialized in infiltration and ambushes, not heavy combat. But thanks to a permanent shortage of manpower during wartime, they found themselves right in the middle of one of the biggest battles of this war. He had the sinking feeling that it was going to be their last, but he was determined to take as many Rock ninja with him as he could.

Kaede screamed. He spared a glance for her. It looked like somebody had used a Katon jutsu against her and her attempt to blow it away only fanned the flames. Now the kunoichi was rolling on the ground, frantically trying to put down the flames consuming her sleeves. Gennosuke sighed. With their strongest fighter down, they really were going to die here.

An Iwa ninja walked close to Kaede, prepared to finish her off with his spiked mace. But before he could do so, he was hit by a Raiton jutsu and collapsed. A quick jab with a sword finished him. Kaede smiled gratefully at the Konoha kunoichi who had saved her. Though a part of her mind told her that she should be ashamed she needed saving, right now she was just glad that she was alive. She also thought that her savior looked familiar. But remembering when she had seen here before had to wait, her primary concern now was putting out the accursed flames while there still was anything left of her special chakra-conductive battle kimono.

Daiki was on the losing end of a rather one-sided fight with a seasoned Iwa chuunin. That man was so much stronger that none of Daiki's skills made any difference. It'd be a miracle if he survived the next minute. 'Forget minute,' he thought as the Rock ninja's attack knocked him to the ground. 'I won't survive the next ten seconds.'

Then his opponent was swiped away by a furry tornado. Daiki breathed a sigh of relief. Somebody from the Kineko clan came to his rescue. But the tornado turned into a grey wolf-like dog, instead of a panther. So one of Konoha's Inuzuka clan then. It was of no consequence, he survived for the while and that was all that mattered. He noticed three more furry tornadoes around, two of them turned into two more identical dogs and the last one into a familiar looking kunoichi.

"You were at the Chuunin Exams," he remembered.

"That we were," Hana confirmed. Her eyes fell on Gennosuke. "And that guy who beat me is here too."

"I hope there's no hard feelings," Gennosuke called, a bit preoccupied battling an Iwa chuunin.

"Not really," the Inuzuka answered.

Kaede finally put out the fire and stood up. Her kimono was a loss though. She'd have to do without it, which was going to be a problem because her style depended on it. They'd really need some assistance. She looked around.

"Where's your third teammate?" she asked the Konoha duo. She remembered the boy who had beaten her in the first round and his strength would be welcome.

"Somewhere inside," Hotaru answered, worry clearly written on her face. They had tried hard to reach Naruto, but the Iwa counterattack had forced them back. "We know nothing about him since the wall collapsed." Kaede gulped. She had almost forgotten just what their young teammate was. It was quite hard to believe that he really held the most dangerous of Bijuu considering how cute and harmless he looked. But deception was a powerful tool of ninja.

"Would you mind to stick around?" Gennosuke suggested. "If you covered us short-range, we could handle long-range support."

"Alright," Hana agreed without hesitation. If they wanted to fight through the Iwa lines towards where they had last seen Naruto, they were going to need all the help they could get. And so the two squads stuck together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Above the fortress~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had been in the air for about a minute when the Earth Dragon struck. Gaara, used to blocking rather than dodging, put more sand into its way, but it turned out to be woefully inadequate. The Doryuudan shattered the sand platform and sent them all plummeting to the ground. It was a good thing they weren't very high when it happened. Gaara was too disoriented by the hit to catch them in his sand so everybody had to break their fall as best as they could.

Naruto created a couple of Kage Bunshin and made them throw him upwards, thus halting his momentum. He landed safely on the fortress roof. Temari unfolded her giant fan and used it to glide down. Her landing wasn't as smooth as she had wanted, but she remained unharmed and her weapon was still usable, though she'd have to get a weaponsmith to straighten the ribs after the battle. Gaara was caught by his sand and lowered down gently. That left somebody missing. The trio looked around for the last member of their party, but they couldn't see him anywhere. There was just a hole in the roof suggesting where Kankurou might have gone.

Before they could go looking for him, the Iwa jounin who had shot them down appeared, two companions at his side. Temari waved her fan at them, but it had little effect and not just because it was slightly bent. The Iwa trio was good and they dodged easily. Or at least they thought so. One of them suddenly found his calves enveloped in Gaara's sand. He had just enough time to look surprised when it crushed his limbs. The man fell down screaming, his legs crippled. The sand moved further up his body.

The two remaining Iwagakure shinobi weren't caught so easily. Naruto created four clones in their paths, but the jounin dispelled three of them with quickly thrown shuriken before they could inflict any damage. The last one managed to put a shallow slash on his companion's shoulder before he too was destroyed. And then the jounin was almost upon them and they had no time to put up a defense.

Then a wall of sand arose between them and the Iwa jounin smashed into it headfirst. Sand flew in all direction and the attacker almost came through, a testament to both his strength and just how exhausted Gaara was. But at least his momentum was halted. Naruto immediately stabbed at him with his sword, but he hit only a rock the jounin had replaced himself with.

There was a startled shout as Temari barely blocked a wild kunai stab from the other enemy and was pushed back. And a bit away from that the jounin was preparing some jutsu. This situation didn't look good. Naruto pondered whether he could afford to draw on Kyuubi's chakra again. The minute of rest atop Gaara's sand platform had helped him a bit, but the weariness was still there. If he allowed Kyuubi's power out of the seal now, he'd lose control of it and slaughter everyone around, including his friends. And if he didn't do it, they all would be killed, he thought as the Iwa jounin shot another Doryuudan at them and it once again shattered Gaara's sand defense. The three went flying. Again. It was becoming a habit.

As Naruto stopped rolling on the ground, he saw the lower-ranked of the Iwa ninja above him, prepared to finish him off with a kunai. Naruto waved his arm in his direction, concentrating Wind chakra to his fingertips. The Wind blade was long enough to hit. The Rock ninja collapsed down, his thighs slashed. Considering how fast he was bleeding it was probably a lethal wound, but Naruto left nothing to chance. He grabbed the dropped kunai and rammed it deep into his skull. That was another one down.

A tortured shriek captured his attention. He looked up to see Temari crumpled on the ground, bleeding. The Iwa jounin stood above her. Close by Gaara was covered in sand, his expression murderous. He was about to unleash Shukaku, but it wouldn't be fast enough to save his sister. And Naruto was too far away to protect her too. He just threw the kunai charged with Wind chakra at the enemy, but he doubted it would make a difference.

Sure enough the Iwa jounin threw his own kunai, knocking it off its course. And then his face turned into one of surprise. It didn't stay that way long, because Gaara's sand slammed into him. As he was thrown away, the three kunai in his back were revealed. The fight was over fast after this. The wounds slowed the jounin's movement so much that Gaara's sand caught up with him and crushed his head. The group was saved for the moment. The only question was who exactly had saved them.

"Uh, guys, can you help me out?" a familiar voice asked.

"Kankurou!" Temari coughed. She was trying to get up, but it was hard with her wounds.

Naruto looked in the direction of the voice. There was the hole in the roof they had noticed after their landing and through it was sticking a wooden construction, now partially broken, with splinters sticking in all directions.

"I think I broke something and it isn't just Karasu," the young puppeteer continued. Naruto ran towards the puppet.

"I'll help you if you let me through," he said. The broken puppet Karasu disappeared down the hole. Naruto jumped down after it. It was dark down there. Naruto reached into his pouch for a light, then he remembered that he was using somebody's else pouch after he had lost his and he didn't have a light.

"Does somebody have a light?" he asked a bit embarrassed. "I've lost mine."

"I have one," Kankurou replied. "A puppeteer is always prepared." Then the room lit up. The first thing Naruto noticed was Kankurou sitting on the ground, leaning on a shelf. One leg and one arm were twisted oddly, but there was no blood. It looked like the Suna genin wasn't seriously wounded. The next thing he noticed were the contents of the shelves. Kunai, shuriken, Exploding Tags. Lots and lots of Exploding Tags. Naruto's face spread into a grin. He couldn't believe their luck. They found a weapon's supply room and there was nobody inside guarding it. This situation was just begging to be exploited.

"Hey, guys," he called. The three Sand Siblings looked at his questioningly, Kankurou from the ground, Gaara and Temari from the ceiling. The girl had to be supported by her brother to move, but her wounds weren't serious. "I just got an idea."

* * *

And that's it for now.

Next time: The battle continues and the promised meetings between Konoha and Suna shinobi finally happen. I know I promised them for today, but they got pushed into the next chapter.


	56. Friendship under fire

**Author's note:** Another chapter here. I hope it's up to your expectation and you don't mind it being a bit OC-heavy.

One reader asked me to show more of Naruto's canon team. Don't worry, you are going to see them. All of the Konoha 12 are going to appear, though it's going to také some time. At this moment they are still 10, weaker than they were during their first canon appearance and would get killed on the kind of missions NAruto goes to. Their only possible role now is as damsels in distress and I've already did that with Team 8. But all of the teams will appear eventually. I have it all planned and partially prewritten. And their role will become bigger once they reach chuunin level. A little spoiler: the first appearance of Team 7 is close, in-story time. It still is several chapters before it comes to that. Also this chapter contains a treat for the fans of Konoha 12.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If you believe I do, I still have some shares in Gatou corporation to sell. Don't worry that their price is plummeting right now, it's going to rise again soon so buy while they are still cheap.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Weapons storage room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They could work undisturbed. They thought it was a miracle, but considering they were far from the actual fighting, it wasn't all that odd. The Iwa forces were concentrating on holding off the attackers and few were left inside, where the battle hadn't reached yet. And the few who were nearby assumed that the intruders had been dealt with by the jounin and his team and then were too busy defending the fortress to realize they hadn't returned yet. But the four friends hurried because their good luck couldn't hold for long. It was mainly thanks to Kankurou's expertise with traps and various mechanisms that they were finished so fast. Naruto realized with a twinge of shame that he had let his training with traps slip a lot. But there wasn't much use of them on a battlefield and there were so many skills that were much more important to train in to survive a battle. Now he realized how inferior his abilities in traplaying were compared to the Suna genin. He resolved to brush up on his skills later. Once he wasn't so busy training for heavy combat. Maybe when this war was over.

Then it was finally finished. They called out to Gaara and his sand lifted them out of the room. It was just in time. Somebody from the Iwa base finally stumbled upon them. The group didn't stop to fight them. Gaara urged the platform to ascend as fast as it could. Naruto shot a Fuuton: Daitoppa at the Rock Ninja to knock away anything they might have hurled at them.

Then the detonation came. It was too soon, they didn't get far enough yet. 'Did we set the timer wrong?' was the question in their minds as the shockwave caused by the explosion of all the stored Blast Notes slammed into them. Gaara tightened his sand around them, pushing whatever strength he had left into it.

It was over quickly. Gaara was grateful for that because he couldn't keep up the defense for much longer before he'd have to tap into more Shukaku's chakra than he could safely handle in his current exhausted state. He let the sand cocoon dissolve. They could see the results of their handiwork.

"It's bigger than I expected," Naruto said when he saw how much of the fortress had collapsed.

"That's because I'm an expert," Kankurou boasted, sitting up straighter before his face twisted in pain as his broken limbs protested the sudden movement.

"Got them," Temari smirked and coughed. Gaara looked at his siblings worriedly.

"They need a medic," Naruto stated. "Fast," he added when Temari coughed again, this time with an ominous gurgling sound. Gaara quickly steered the sand platform towards the allied camp, this time staying so high above the battle that no stray jutsu could hit them.

They arrived at the medical tents shortly. There they unloaded Temari and Kankurou and Gaara threatened the medics into giving them premium treatment.

"Shall we go?" Naruto asked when the two were being taken care of. Gaara looked at him questioningly. He planned to stay close to his siblings and make sure they were alright. He couldn't fathom why he should be doing anything else. "The battle is still going on and we should help."

"That you should," one of the medics interjected, "instead of bothering us here."

"We're tired," Gaara replied. That was unfortunately very true.

"Try some Soldier Pills," the medic answered, with an unsaid 'moron' at the end. The two boys looked at each other. They never carried any Soldier pills, because exhaustion was rarely a problem for either of them. "Oh, you don't have any?" the medic shook his head in disbelief. "Sheesh, and you call yourselves shinobi. Take these." He threw them two little pills. Naruto looked at his suspiciously for a moment and then swallowed it. He could feel the effects almost immediately. His chakra was replenished fast, but it stung in his chakra pathways still raw after the use of Kyuubi's power. He grimaced. Gaara noticed it and turned towards the medic with murder in his eyes.

"It's alright," Naruto said hurriedly before the red-haired boy could do something stupid. "I already feel stronger. It just stings." Gaara didn't look convinced, but he ate his pill too. He didn't seem to be in as much discomfort as Naruto.

"Now let's go." The two boys headed back to the battlefield.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near the crumbled wall~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jiraiya finally found the place where he had last seen the Kyuubi's chakra. It had taken him much longer than he liked. Though there was nobody within the Iwa fortress who could really go toe to toe with the Toad Sage, there were enough who were willing to try. They all ultimately failed, but each of them cost him precious minutes. When he finally reached his destination after what had felt like hours, he couldn't find Naruto anywhere. He looked around, killing the occasional Iwa ninja who came across him, but still no Naruto.

'At least I haven't found his body yet,' he thought in a futile attempt to lift his spirits. He knew that it meant nothing. Considering the amount of rubble and corpses everywhere and the insufficient light, missing Naruto's body would be very easy. In fact, it would be quite unlikely if he did find him.

'Where did you wander off to, brat?' the white-haired man asked himself, trying to convince himself that his godson was still alive. Anything else was unthinkable, so he refused to even think about it, which was proving to be easier said than done.

Then the fortress exploded. Jiraiya used Hari Jizou to block the flying debris. Once the dust settled down a bit he looked in disbelief at the destruction the blast caused. The central part of the fortress was collapsing in a cloud of smoke, burying anybody who was unfortunate enough to be near ground zero.

'I just hope Naruto wasn't there,' he prayed, trying not to think about what chances the boy had to be still alive. 'He has to be,' he thought. 'The Kyuubi wouldn't let him die.' But he couldn't feel the demonic chakra at all. 'He wasn't there. He wasn't.' The words became a mantra, but they failed to calm him. He needed something much stronger to calm his frayed nerves, at least a bit. Luckily there were plenty of opportunities to vent some anxiety around. The next Rock ninja who showed up felt his wrath. The one after him too. And it still wasn't enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Right outside the walls~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana coughed as she picked herself from the ground. The dust in the air was irritating here eyes and her sensitive Inuzuka nose. Her dogs were likewise coughing. She looked around for her comrades. She quickly found all of them, getting back to their feet too. At least that much was good. Otherwise there wasn't much good news.

They had managed to fight their way closer to the Iwa fortress' walls again. They even pulled it off without losing a single member of their small makeshift squad. And just as they were preparing to reenter the fortress and finally look for their missing teammate, there was a giant explosion. The shockwave knocked everybody to the ground. And if it was like this outside the walls, just how bad was it inside?

She squinted, trying to see through the clouds of dust. It was a lost cause. She'd have to wait for the dust to settle to find out what was going on. Usually she could rely on her sharp Inuzuka senses, but this time her sensitive nose was running, struggling to expel or the dust that threatened to enter her lungs, and her ears were ringing with the echoes of the explosion. Though she could hear some thuds that probably weren't just blood pulsing in her ears. What could be so loud that she heard it even in her current state? Was the fortress collapsing? Had the explosion been strong enough to inflict large-scale structural damage to a building as sturdy as this one? If so, then whoever had the misfortune of being inside was either dead or dying. That was good for their war effort, but...

"Naruto," she whispered. She could just hope that her teammate hadn't been caught in the blast. Because if he was, then even with his enhanced healing he'd be done for.

A metallic cling snapped her from her stupor.

"Pay attention!" Gennosuke shouted as he directed his horse-like puppet towards an Iwa ninja who had almost killed her in her distraction.

"We have to find Naruto!" Hotaru screamed, echoing Hana's thoughts.

"If he was inside, he's dead," Daiki spoke, unconsciously adding despair to his voice. It nearly broke Hana. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes and it wasn't just to wash out the ever-present dust.

"I know you just lost a teammate, but get a hold of yourselves," Gennosuke scolded them.

"Would he die that easily?" It was Kaede that spoke the question. That helped the two Konoha kunoichi shake off the spell.

"Of course he won't," Hana stated, mostly for her own benefit. If she repeated it enough times, then she might get to actually believe it, so she did so. "Of course he won't."

"Then let's beat some Iwa ninja," Hotaru suggested and immediately slashed a Lightning-charged blade at the closest one.

"Sounds good," Kaede agreed and blew a Wind Bullet at an approaching group. Her combat effectivity might be greatly reduced without her special sleeves, but that didn't mean she was useless. Teono-sensei would never allow it.

The Iwa group lost some members, but they kept running. Kaede quickly shunshined out of their way. She saw her companions doing the same when they realized they couldn't stop them, just throwing token attacks at the running group.

"They're panicking," Daiki observed. His clan's abilities allowed him to read other people's emotions clearly.

"Their big fortress fell and now they're running," Hotaru smirked bloodthirstily. "Now we can get in."

"Don't get ahead of yourselves," Gennosuke warned. "Only the young ones are panicking. The experienced shinobi still hold the fort and would do so until their last breath."

"Then we'll help them draw their last breath," Hotaru suggested.

"Sounds like a plan."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Outskirts of the battlefield~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mizue sighed. Things weren't looking good for them. Not that they were losing the battle, so far everything was going more or less according to the plan from what she could see, (well, she wasn't sure whether the big explosion a while ago was a part of the plan, but it seemed like a good thing,) but because of that contest. It had happened not long after they had arrived at the outpost and Youkou-sensei had met the Konoha jounin who must have been his long lost brother, despite the fact that they looked nothing alike. They began immediately comparing the Blazing Spirits to the Flames of Youth and then they suggested a Youthful/Spirited match to decide which one was better.

Team Youkou had been pretty sure they would win, after all they were all chuunin now and the Konoha team was new and still just genin, but then the Konoha kunoichi suggested that they should decide it by who'd kill more shinobi in the upcoming battle, because they shouldn't waste their strength and risk serious injury before the fighting broke out. Both jounin agreed and even their teams were relieved with the solution, they because they were sure they'd win anyway and Team Gai because they were sparing themselves a painful defeat. But then Team Youkou learned that they were assigned to the perimeter guard. Their only chance to see any action was if the Iwa forces broke through the attacking forces and tried to escape in their direction. It didn't seem particularly likely. They had no idea where Team Gai was, but they were all pretty sure that they were having more action than them. The Suna trio had yet to see one Iwa ninja.

"This sucks," Mizue grumbled.

"At least we don't have to be there," Toshiro remarked, looking at the inferno raging at the Iwa fortress.

"That's nothing compared to what Youkou-sensei will put us through if we lose the contest," the kunoichi pointed out.

"I'm not sure," Akira said watching as a part of the building just crumbled down.

"If we could kill just one Iwa ninja, just one little ninja, so we won't be the slackers who did nothing, we might survive the special training, but this way..." Mizue muttered.

"Calm down," the Kineko said. "I want to fight too, but we have our orders." His giant black cat meowed. "Yes, Kurotsume, I don't like them either," Akira answered, "but I obey them."

In the next moment there was a clang of metal on metal as a kunai suddenly headed for the distracted cat user and was blocked by Toshiro's giant sword.

"Looks like you'll get your wish," their teammate said. "Here they come."

Then they were swarmed by Iwa ninja trying to break through the joined Suna/Konoha lines.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Not far away~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This is unyouthful," Rock Lee complained. "We have to wait here while everybody else is fighting."

"Be glad we don't have to fight," Tenten said watching the chaos going on around the Iwa fortress.

"We'd be wiped out," Neji added. Though he had improved a lot since their first encounter with enemy ninja, they all had, he knew that they had no chance to survive in such hell. He thanked Fate that they had been assigned to the rear guard.

"But this way we're going to lose the youthful contest," Lee complained.

"Who cares about some stupid contest," Tenten muttered.

"Our survival is more important," the Hyuuga added.

"The youthful Suna team must have killed many enemies already."

"They're older than us and they're already chuunin," the kunoichi pointed out. "We're still new. We stood no chance anyway."

"Then we'd have to train hard to win the next contest," Lee resolved. "Gai-sensei is going to train us even harder." His teammates winced. Compared to Gai's 'special training' an all-out life and death battle suddenly didn't sound so bad.

"Maybe we won't lose," Neji said.

"What do you mean?" Tenten asked before she noticed he had activated his Byakugan.

"Enemies approaching fast," the Hyuuga explained.

"Yosh!" Lee exclaimed. "Let's show them our Flames of Youth!"

"Lee," Tenten spoke slowly, "have you ever heard about setting an ambush and the moment of surprise?"

"That's unyouthful!" the green-clad genin declared. He sounded almost offended that she suggested he should use such underhanded tactics.

"Forget I ever asked," the kunoichi sighed. Then she prepared her weapon scrolls. She was going to need them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Crumbled wall~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anko smiled as she jumped inside the enemy fortress. She was in her element. Some Iwa chuunin tried to stop her, but she slashed his throat and then licked his blood off her kunai. Yes, she loved battle. Especially the shocked looks on her victims' faces when she unleashed her Shadow Snakes on them.

After a few minutes of enjoying herself she finally ran into somebody who gave her a real challenge. Her grin widened. Killing grunts was no fun. Every kill tasted sweeter when she had to work for it. She evaded nimbly as the man thrust his kunai at her.

"Sen'eijashu!" she called, shooting a bundle of snakes from her sleeve. That usually freaked her opponents out, but this time it didn't do a thing. The Rock ninja dodged and kicked her in the stomach. He was fast, Anko barely saw him move. She grunted in pain and took a step back. Then she grinned again. She was going to enjoy this kill very much.

A few minutes later she had to reassess her opinion. Though she'd enjoy killing an opponent as strong as this one very much, right now it seemed that she was going to be the one killed. The man was pressing her back steadily. She was already bleeding from several shallow wounds and it was only a matter of time before she sustained a serious one.

Just when she found herself with her back pressed against a wall and nowhere to run, another figure stepped into her field of vision. The Iwa ninja noticed it too and turned a bit to block the newcomer's attack. Anko used the opportunity to slash at him, but her kunai swipe was blocked too. The Iwa ninja was just that good. The only injury both attacks managed to inflict was a shallow gash on the back of his hand caused by the newcomer, who, as Anko could see now, was a Suna kunoichi in the standard Suna uniform, only she seemed to have forgotten to put on her pants.

"Oh my," the Suna woman purred, "you're good to block this." The Iwa man didn't listen to her praise and attacked her. She dodged his punch nimbly, performing a backflip that gave him a perfect view of her panties. The man paused for a moment, which Anko used to stab his upper arm. This time she succeeded. She felt her kunai stop when it stuck the man's bone. He grunted in pain and backhanded her, throwing her back into the wall.

"Fight all you want," the Sand kunoichi spoke, "it's already too late for you." The man turned to her. She kicked at his chest, once again showing off her racy black lace lingerie. The man blocked a bit too slow, gaining a bruise on his arm. "You didn't freeze enough. Maybe I should remove my panties too?" The Suna woman suggested and immediately reached down to do just so. The Iwa man reddened. Anko snorted. She really liked this girl. She knew how to handle men. She used the opening to stab at his head. He dodged, but his movement wasn't as fast as it used to be.

"Do you feel it now?" the Suna kunoichi asked, attacking too. "Your movements are slowing down. Your limbs don't obey you as they should anymore. And it's going to get even worse as the poison takes effect. You have only two minutes left to live and that's only if I don't finish you off sooner." The man was doing his best to avoid the attacks of both women, but his movements were slowing down. Finally it was Anko who managed to slash his neck. The Iwa man fell down dead.

"You're good," Anko said after she licked his blood off her kunai.

"You're not bad either," the Suna kunoichi smiled. "But you shouldn't do this. If you cut your tongue, the poison from his blood would kill you too. Fortunately it does nothing if you eat it."

"That's some good stuff," Anko nodded approvingly.

"It's the specialty of the Museitabi clan," the Sand kunoichi informed her proudly. "I'm Asami, by the way."

"Mitarashi Anko. Pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you too," Asami replied. "I think we'll get along splendidly. What about killing some Iwa ninja to celebrate the occasion?"

Anko grinned. "Sounds perfect to me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto and Gaara~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were in the thick of the battle again. Naruto had to admit that Soldier Pills were really wonderful. He wasn't feeling tired at all. Or maybe the brief reprieve had helped him replenish his own chakra stores. Whatever the reason, he could fight again now, though he suspected he was going to feel terrible comes tomorrow. For now he was content to throw jutsu after jutsu at whatever enemy they came across. Gaara was covering his back, squeezing everybody in his sand. Despite never training together before, their teamwork was good.

Their first sign that not everything was going to be peachy was when an Earth Dragon smashed into Gaara's shield and knocked them both down. 'This is really getting repetitive,' Naruto thought as he scrambled to his feet. He looked around for their attacker. He spotted him quickly. The attacker was obviously a jounin and he had brought along five friends, all of whom looked like jounin too. And one of them was already finishing the seals for yet another Doryuudan. The third one was just beginning them. It looked like the jounin squad had decided to just pummel them with A-rank jutsu and see how long they can take it.

Naruto didn't wait for the attack to hit and shunshined away. Gaara wasn't so fast. Dodging really wasn't his forte. The second Earth Dragon slammed into his hastily erected sand shield and knocked him through a nearby wall. The only good thing that came of it was that the Iwa team now couldn't see him.

Naruto blew a quick Fuuton at the Iwa squad in hope of distracting them, but the hastily performed jutsu had only enough strength to ruffle their hair. And then he had to dodge the third Earth Dragon. As he landed, one of the Iwa jounin, this one a medium-sized man with short deep reddish-brown hair, appeared next to him and punched him to his ribs. Naruto went flying again. Still in the air he realized that a black-haired Iwa kunoichi was standing in his path, twin kunai in her hands prepared to skewer him upon landing. He managed to twist so that he was going feet first. He tried to kick her, but she was faster. He felt the kunai stabbing into his foot. It hurt. He swallowed the pain and created Wind Blades from his stabbed appendage. The Rock kunoichi dropped the kunai, her fingers now bloodied and useless.

Naruto landed on the ground and quickly yanked the kunai from his foot. It was going to heal soon, but until then he was going to have big trouble dodging. And dodging was what he needed to do right now, because yet another Iwa jounin, this time a bulky bald man, was standing above him, prepared to smash him with a giant steel mace. Naruto knew that his measly kunai couldn't possibly block such force.

Just as he was about to despair a sand spear slammed into the man's side. It didn't pierce through his flak jacket, but it knocked him away and the mace crashed into the ground harmlessly. Gaara reentered the fight. But it was too soon to consider himself saved. The first jounin, Naruto noted he was tall and thin with graying brown hair, just finished the handseals for Earth Spear. Naruto escaped with a quick Kawarimi before it could strike.

He didn't get even a moment of respite because the red-haired ninja, obviously a taijutsu specialist, was next to him again. Naruto knew he couldn't dodge with his still injured foot. But he had to do something. Only evading attacks would get him killed sooner or later, more likely sooner than later.

He twisted his body to avoid the falling fist, but didn't quite make it. It struck him in his left shoulder. Something cracked. He cried out in pain. The Rock Ninja smiled maliciously and twisted the fist in the wound. Making the splinters of broken bones grind together was usually enough to make the victim faint of pain. Naruto had a much higher pain tolerance then he anticipated. His right arm flashed up and grabbed the Iwa ninja's wrist. At the same time Naruto's uninjured foot kicked his thigh. Both palm and toes glowed with Wind chakra for a moment. The Iwa ninja could only look in surprise as his hand was cut cleanly off and a deep gash opened in his thigh, spilling blood in a thick stream. Naruto kicked him off. This was one enemy that wasn't going to give them trouble anymore. There were still five more to go.

Naruto tried to get up, but the pain in his shattered shoulder nearly made him black out. High pain tolerance he might have, but it wasn't limitless. And once the first shock of the injury wore off, the wound began really hurting. Loathe he might be to admit it, but he was pretty much out of the fight. It was all he could do to block some shuriken the Iwa kunoichi sent his way. Once she dared to come closer, she would have no trouble finishing him with her one good arm.

Naruto spared a glance to see how Gaara was doing. The Ichibi Jinchuuriki gathered his sand around him in a thick shield and the four Iwa jounin sent technique after technique at it. At least one Earth Spear had actually penetrated the defense. The redhead had no time and energy to spare for offense. Gaara had to either draw on Shukaku's power or lose this fight. And judging by the sudden heaviness in the air, he was already beginning to do so.

Naruto realized that his options were exactly the same. Either draw power from his demon or die here lying down. The second option sounded unappealing, but could he really dare to go for the first? Would he really be able to control even a small portion of Kyuubi's chakra? He wasn't sure, but there was one way to find out.

He just had to will it and the familiar red fire filled his veins. He immediately felt stronger and the pain in his wounds faded away. He knew that it was going to take longer for them to disappear completely, but at least he could move again.

"_**Kill! Kill! Kill!" **_Kyuubi growled in his head. Naruto obliged and finished off the crippled man. It wasn't overkill, he was clutching a kunai in his good hand and trying to stab Naruto with his last breath. Next order of business was the kunoichi who now switched from shuriken to kunai. He sprung to his feet, still limping slightly, and rushed at her.

"_**Tear! Maim! Rip her apart!"**_ his tenant urged. She hurled her last kunai at him and he batted it away easily. A flicker of fear appeared in her eyes, but she quashed it down. She was a jounin of Iwa and she possessed the Heart of Stone. Even if this battle didn't go their way, they could at least take out the enemy jinchuuriki. Without their human weapons the military strength of both Konoha and Suna would be weakened considerably and she was determined to make it happen, even if it should cost her life.

She raised her good hand and quickly ran her fingers through three one-handed handseals. She had never performed this particular technique before, but she was confident it was going to work. And she had only one shot at this, so she had to make it count. Timing was everything here. She had to make it. She was going to take him with her.

The jinchuuriki was almost upon her. Any moment now he would strike. And then her time would come.

Naruto finally got within striking distance of his target.

"_**Paint the ground with her blood**_!" Kyuubi urged. It was background noise for the boy. He planned to kill her anyway so the Bijuu's demands made little difference to him. He struck and sank his claws into her body. Literally sank. He blinked in surprise. This wasn't supposed to happen. He should have torn out a good chunk of her torso, not having his arm sink inside and get stuck there. The sudden victorious smile on the kunoichi's face gave him a very bad feeling about this situation. Then her body suddenly turned to liquid and enveloped him.

It burned. It burned like standing in fire. 'What did she turn herself into? Acid?' Naruto wondered. He tried to shake off the burning liquid, but it clung to him mercilessly. That suicide jutsu was truly annoying. Naruto did the only thing he could think of to get rid of it: increased the use of Kyuubi's chakra and willed it all to form a thicker chakra cloak. The acidic liquid began to boil and generate really nasty fumes. And the fumes still stayed around him. Annoying didn't begin to describe it. Was there no way to get rid of the goo? Naruto was beginning to fear that he would really die here.

"_**I won't die here!" **_Kyuubi roared. Even more of the demonic chakra flowed into Naruto's system. The boy didn't resist. He welcomed anything that looked like it might help him from the burning. Getting rid of the sticky liquid took absolute priority in his mind, to the exclusion of everything else. He began clawing at it, trying to scrub himself clean. He roared in pain, thrashing around wildly. He couldn't even see what he crashed into.

* * *

And that's it for today. I know some readers complained about evil cliffhangers no jutsu, but this was just the ideal place to cut the chapter short. Especially if I wanted to publish it today.

Next time: We might finally see the end of the battle. I think. It keeps getting longer as I write it.


	57. Fortress falls

**Author's note:** Thank you, all my readers, for over 1000 reviews. As your reward, and to celebrate this story reaching over 300 000 words, this story got a new cover. You can see the full version at my DeviantArt account, link in the author's profile page. (If you've read this far, you should know the dril.)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Also, if you bought the shares of Gatou corporation, tough luck, suckers. The company went under after the sudden demise of its CEO.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Fortress ruins~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara saw that their situation was grim. The four jounin fighting him were really good. His basic sand shield couldn't repel all their attacks. And if he wanted to make it stronger, he would have to draw on Shukaku's power. That was something he'd rather not do. Though his ability to resist the demon's bloodthirsty impulses had increased, if he tried to use much of its chakra, he would lose control. And losing control in this situation would be bad. He hoped that Naruto would finish off his opponent and come to his aid, but if it wouldn't happen within a minute, he'd be forced to let his tenant out to play.

Then he felt the demonic chakra in the air increasing and it wasn't coming from him. He shot a look at Naruto. Just as he expected, he saw the blond boy enveloped in a shroud of red youki, a tail waving frantically around him. What he didn't expect was the purplish-colored goo clinging to him. What was that stuff? Gaara didn't know, but it looked like it was causing the boy great pain. That wasn't good.

Gaara wanted to help his friend, but he was too busy staying alive. In the moment he took to assess Naruto's situation one of the Iwa jounin created a lance of rock and pierced his sand defense, almost reaching Gaara's body. There was a shout as one of the Iwa ninja was hit by Naruto's thrashing tail. One more enemy down. Good. But it still wasn't good enough. Naruto seemed to have lost it and was clawing at himself, trying to get the goo off. If he was at least flinging it at their enemies, they could get out of this mess, but Naruto wasn't coherent enough to do so. Unless a miracle happened within the next ten seconds, Gaara was going to unleash Shukaku.

Just as the red-haired boy counted to nine, a miracle did indeed happen. A wind-charged kunai flew straight through the head of one of the Iwa jounin, killing him on the spot. That left them facing only two enemies. And their savior revealed himself.

"Baki-sensei," Gaara sighed with relief. Now that it was two on two, the situation was looking up again. One of the Iwa jounin turned around to deal with the new threat. That gave Gaara enough breathing space to catch the last one in his sand and squeeze him until only red paste remained. He then moved to help Baki, but there was no need. The Suna jounin was just finishing off his opponent.

"Gaara," Baki said, his eyes darting from his student to Naruto. "Where are Temari and Kankurou?"

"Medical tent," the boy replied. Baki nodded, looking relieved.

"We should get out of here," the Suna jounin suggested, shooting wary glances at Naruto. He had enough experience of what happens if a jinchuuriki loses control and Naruto seemed completely out of it. He could turn on them any moment.

"We have to help him," Gaara said. Naruto, now in two-tailed state, was still struggling in vain to get rid of the purple goo. Some of it had evaporated now, burned away by the demonic chakra, but the fumes still clung to the boy. Gaara wasn't sure what could he do to help so he decided to start simple. He sent some of his sand into the goo, letting it soak through it, and then made it fly away. Much to his dismay the goo didn't stick to the sand, but returned to Naruto. This was really bad. What else could he do?

"Naruto!" a new voice called. The boy in question didn't seem to hear it. The Suna duo turned to look at the newcomer. It was a tall man with very long spiky white hair. Baki recognized him immediately.

"Jiraiya-sama!" Baki called in relief. "Can you calm him down?"

"Well, I can block the flow of Kyuubi's chakra," the Toad Sage scowled, "but then nothing would protect him from the Venomous Last Curse." The Sannin recognized what jutsu had been used on Naruto. He had seen a comrade die of it during the Second Shinobi War after a dying Iwa jounin had decided to take the Konoha squad with him. Back then it had been over so quickly he couldn't do a thing, just watch as his friend's body dissolved in the purplish stuff. But Naruto was being protected by the Kyuubi's chakra, so he had time to analyze the situation and come up with a solution. He pulled out a blank scroll, an ink bottle and a brush and began to draw symbols on it. He could only guess at the exact composition of the corrosive goo, but as a sealmaster he could seal it away even when he didn't have all the details about it. It took him almost a minute to finish his work, a minute Naruto spent trashing around, clawing at himself and howling in pain. If Jiraiya weren't such a seasoned ninja, he wouldn't have been able to concentrate in these conditions.

When he was finished, he wasted no time activating the seal. He waited with bated breath whether it would work. He couldn't be sure if he took everything into account correctly and how would the presence of Kyuubi's chakra affect the seal. But it worked alright. He just had to keep dodging Naruto's wildly swinging tails as he pumped more chakra into the seal and the scroll drew all the goo and fumes into itself. Finally it was all gone. But Naruto didn't seem to notice, he still clawed at his own body and trashed around as if he was still in pain. Jiraiya sighed and pulled a pre-prepared seal from his pouch. Now he just had to put it on Naruto's stomach, which wasn't going to be easy, considering the boy refused to stay still.

"Can you hold him down?" he turned to Gaara. In response the sand shot forward and enveloped Naruto in a cocoon. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki roared in anger and struggled to get out. He almost made it, but Jiraiya was faster. The sealing tag was slapped right over the seal on his stomach. The red chakra cloak disappeared in an instant. Naruto collapsed to the ground and stayed there unmoving. There was blood all over him.

"Is he still alive?" Baki asked. Considering how badly Naruto looked, it was a valid question. Jiraiya leaned over his godson and checked his vitals.

"Yes, but he is bad off," he answered. "He needs a medic quickly." Baki just looked around. They were in the middle of the ruins of the Iwa fortress and though there weren't as many Rock ninja around as there were at the beginning, there were still too many enemies left.

"We still have to fight," Baki stated.

"We'll get Naruto to the medic tent," Gaara said. His words had a sense of finality to them. Jiraiya looked at the battlefield that separated them from the nearest medic tent.

"We'll have enough enemies to fight on the way."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Outskirts of the battlefield~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Throw. Throw. Throw. Throw. _A shout of pain, then another. Tenten frowned. She had thrown four kunai and hit only twice? She needed more practice. That is if she lived long enough to get more practice. The Iwa ninja were pressing them badly. They had been forced to leave their original position when one of the Rock nins aimed a Fire jutsu at it. After that they just did they best to stay alive and if possible kill some Iwa shinobi. It was easier said than done, especially the second part. They were just genin and no matter how hard Gai-sensei trained them, this fight was still above their level. Their only piece of good luck was that there were many genin in the enemy army too.

_Throw. Throw. _Tenten reached into her pouch for another kunai, but found only air. She grimaced. She had gone through her stack faster than she had imagined possible. And she had brought as many kunai and shuriken as she could carry. It looked like her specialization wasn't really suited for large-scale battles. Fortunately she had counted on this possibility. She reached deeper in her pocket and pulled out a scroll. She unrolled it and smeared her blood on it. Several packets of kunai fell out. She was restocked again. But those were her last. She'd have to make sure every one of them counted.

She threw the first kunai into the skull of a ninja who was trying to sneak up on Lee's back. It was a good hit. Another went into the thigh of one of the three Rock men who were ganging up on Neji. Another kunai well used. The third she stabbed into the neck of a woman who tried to sneak up on her. Then she pulled it out and threw it at a man who looked like he wasn't paying attention. He dodged. Tenten grimaced. This was a waste.

It made her think about what was going to happen once she ran out of ammunition completely. Then she'll be useless. Though she knew some taijutsu, as all Gai's students did, she wasn't a prodigy like Neji, who was currently closing enemies' tenketsu with his Juuken, and she never trained as hard as Lee, who was kicking away Iwa ninja with the exuberance of Youth. The green-clad genin had removed his weights some time ago and yet was barely avoiding harm. She'd be lucky to just stay alive. She wished she had thought to bring some sake. If Lee got into his drunken frenzy, they might yet get out of this alive, but without it their chances seemed bleak.

Just as she thought it, Rock Lee kicked one Iwa ninja in the stomach and his foot sunk in, revealing that the target was actually a Mud Clone. As soon as Lee blinked in surprise, the mud solidified, capturing Lee's foot inside. The taijutsu specialist immediately tried to kick the clone into pieces with his other foot, but he was too slow. Another Rock shinobi snuck upon him and aimed a crushing blow at his head. Lee tried to block with his forearm, but he didn't quite make it. The blow still glanced his skull and he slumped to the ground.

"Lee!" Tenten shouted desperately. The green-clad genin was twitching, but he was shaken severely and an easy target. Neji just grimaced. He saw the fate that had befallen his teammate despite facing the other way because he had his Byakugan active. He knew that he was going to follow him soon and so would Tenten. Despite being able to see in every direction, he couldn't defend in all directions. He had tried to learn the Kaiten, but he was still far from being actually able to perform it sufficiently. Spying on the members of the Main House training was easier said than done when he was spending a lot of time on missions instead inside the Hyuuga compound. And even when he was home, the Main Family didn't practice the Kaiten that often. After all the months of observation he only just began to understand how the technique worked. He also gained some understanding of Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou, but he still wasn't able to actually perform any of the techniques, at least not enough to use them on a real enemy.

Tenten threw two kunai at the man standing above Lee, but he blocked them both. He was just too good for them. She couldn't do anything against him, yet she had to do something or she'd watch her teammate die. Just as she was about to try something desperate and stupid, there was a loud shout that drowned the roar of battle for a moment.

"Hedgehog's fury!" Something flew through the air at high speed, crushing everybody in its path. The Iwa shinobi looked around in surprise. For many of them it was the last thing they ever did because another shout sounded.

"Tearing wheels!" Two discs rolled along the path created by the first jutsu, cutting into the ninja shaken by the earlier attack. The few people who were still moving after that were quickly hit by a snakelike blade.

"Our spirits blaze the brightest!" A girlish voice cheered. There was a moment of shocked silence. Then...

"Our Youthful rivals!" Lee exclaimed. He was back on his feet now. After all, Gai-sensei hit much harder.

"If it aren't the Konoha kiddies," the Suna chuunin with the giant black feline said.

"Killed many Iwa ninja yet?" his armored teammate asked as he prepared to throw his giant spiked steel ball on a chain again.

"No time to count," Neji answered, striking one of his enemies in the stomach with a Juuken strike. The man fell to the ground too.

"I lost the count after the first five," the girl with the four long braids and a bending sword admitted sheepishly as she engaged another enemy.

"So what are we going to tell our sensei?" Tenten asked. She used the brief respite to grab the weapon holsters of several fallen Iwa nin to restock her own dwindling supply.

"That we fought with the Power of Youth!" Lee exclaimed, kicking a Rock ninja in the face.

"Hey, that sounds good," Akira realized. "Youkou-sensei might actually buy it."

"Gai-sensei might too," Tenten said throwing her kunai.

"So it's a plan," Toshiro smiled as he swung his giant morningstar around. "Let's fight together with our Blazing Spirits or Flames of Youth or whatever high and we might get out of the 'special training.'"

"That sounds good," Tenten smiled. "Now there's six of us, nothing can stop us."

"Whatever," Akira shrugged. "Just don't count on us saving you again, kiddies."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near the fortress~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Naruto..."

The two kunoichi of Team Tenzo had been elated when they had felt the ominous cloud of Kyuubi's chakra over the battlefield again. It meant that Naruto was still alive. But not long after that it had disappeared again, and it had happened rather abruptly. They urged their group in the direction of Naruto's last known location. Moving across the battlefield was much easier than it used to be. There were much fewer Iwa ninja running around now. On the other hand, there were much fewer Konoha and Suna ninja as well. It was hard to tell who was losing shinobi faster, but Hana's nose was telling her that there were more Iwa corpses strewn around than Konoha and Suna ones. But that might be her wishful thinking. There were still plenty of enemy shinobi around. Like the group that currently moved to block their path. They seriously annoyed her. She barked an order to her three dogs and a moment later there stood three perfect copies of her, all of them with the Shikyaku no Jutsu activated.

"Gatenga!" she shouted. Four spinning discs launched at the Iwa squad, scattering its members in all direction. Several managed to dodge, but before they could do anything else, they were tackled by a wooden horse-like puppet. Another was struck by a swift Lightning-charged blade. Two more were hit by a gust of wind, knocking them down. Soon a small figure appeared above them, speaking about the hopelessness of their situation before slicing their throat.

"We have pretty good teamwork now," Kaede remarked. Hana nodded, slowly picking herself from the ground. Her head was spinning. That sometimes happened after performing the Inuzuka clan techniques, usually to beginners, but it had been quite some time since it had happened to her. She must be lower on chakra than she had thought if she couldn't deal with the spin. She tried her best to hide her discomfort, but her teammate noticed it.

"Don't exhaust yourself," Hotaru suggested. Hana was tempted to snap at her. It wasn't the dumbest piece of advice she had ever received, but it came close. How was she supposed to save her energy in the middle of a battlefield, with her teammate missing, most likely in grave danger? She wasn't going to rest until she saw that Naruto was alright. She straightened up, trying to look as confident and fresh as possible, which wasn't much. She considered taking another Soldier Pill, but her medical knowledge told her what would happen if she overdosed in vivid detail. She wasn't too tired to move on her own power yet. She could pull through. She looked at her dogs. The Haimaru triplets looked about ready to drop too. She grimaced. If she gave them more Soldier Pills, the eventual aftereffects would be even worse than in a human. They'd have to do with what little energy they had left, unless they ran into a really dangerous enemy. Though then it might be too late.

"You really are exhausted, aren't you," Hotaru observed. The purple-haired kunoichi looked like she had trouble holding her sword in the on guard position. "You didn't even bark at me."

"You don't look any better," the Inuzuka retorted. Her teammate smiled grimly.

"We're all exhausted, but we have to move," Gennosuke said.

"We could ask the Iwa ninja for a timeout," Daiki suggested with only the tiniest hint of sarcasm in his voice. Hotaru nearly burst out laughing as she imagined the warring parties taking a nap on the battlefield, clad in goofy-print pajamas, snuggling together in white fluffy pillows and blankets.

"Why don't you ask them to do so?" Kaede jibed at the Aoyume boy. "They might listen to you."

"Why didn't I think about it before?" Daiki asked. This time his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Hana tuned out the Suna team's bickering. Her nose just caught a scent. That was a bit problematic, because the battlefield was saturated with various odors, mixed together by Fuuton techniques, it was confusing her sensitive nose. Whenever she tried to make much sense of it, it made her head hurt. But this time she was almost certain she caught a whiff of Naruto's scent. Now where was it coming from? A few more whiffs gave her a likely direction. She just hoped that the scent of blood and acid and something even worse coming the same way was just coincidence.

"He's over there," she pointed.

"Who?" Kaede, who paused in her bickering with Daiki asked.

"Naruto?" Hotaru guessed.

"Of course," Hana confirmed. "Let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Gai and Youkou~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A quick combination of kicks took care of three Iwa ninja. They had been low-level, but that didn't matter in the competition. Only that Gai now had three more points on his score and finally got in the lead. Probably. At least he hoped so. He had no idea how many Youkou got. That thought made him want to redouble his effort, but short of opening the Gates he couldn't do more than he was already doing. And if he did that, he would get tired quickly, which could mean that Youkou would outlast him and win the competition, which would be unyouthful. He resolved to step up his training to become more youthful. His Flames of Youth weren't burning brightly enough if he was having this trouble.

He tried to kick another enemy, but his leg struck only air and it wasn't because the Rock ninja dodged. Genjutsu! He knew it well from his countless spars with his eternal Rival Kakashi and knew well how to fight against it.

"Kai!" he shouted. The illusion dissolved just in time to reveal the stream of fire heading towards him. Either Youkou was caught in a genjutsu too or he decided to win their contest in a very unyouthful manner. Gai mentally scolded himself for even thinking about it. Of course his new rival was youthful, it was unyouthful to suspect him of anything else. And now it was his youthful duty to help him break out of the spell. Gai quickly dodged the Katon and started towards Youkou. But before he could make two steps, his legs sank thigh-deep into the ground, revealing that it was actually a jutsu-created swamp. It refused to let go of his captive limbs and hardened around them to make that sentiment absolutely clear. Gai sighed. Somebody was really good with genjutsu here, probably as good as Kakashi, and they were good with Doton too. But despair was unyouthful. Gai punched the ground around him, trying to shatter it. Instead his fist sunk inside too. It looked like he was screwed.

Meanwhile Youkou was having his own trouble. There suddenly appeared an Iwa ninja a bit behind him. The Suna jounin turned around and fried him with a mid-level Katon jutsu. This was one of his fastest-acting, but it still failed to hit him. The Iwa guy was too good at dodging. 'Well, let's see you dodge this,' Youkou thought and ran through the handseals for a wide-area fire technique. Then he saw the Iwa ninja sink into the ground, which was a pretty common tactic for them, but this one stayed halfway up and looked like he was stuck there. Well, that was odd.

Youkou turned and spat the fire the other way; there were some small-fry Iwa shinobi in need of some deep-frying. Then he formed another seal. "Kai!" he called. The trapped ninja immediately changed from somebody nondescript in Iwa uniform to his Spirited Rival Maito Gai. Youkou's eyes narrowed in anger. So somebody was trying to trick him into killing his own comrade? That was disgusting. But he was going to show them what it meant to anger him. His Blazing Spirits were going to burn them to cinder. But at the moment he couldn't see where the genjutsu specialist was hiding. And Gai was sitting duck, trapped in the ground. Youkou decided to help him first, even if they were rivals. But as soon as he made two steps towards him, his feet sank into the ground too. He tried to jump, but it only made him sink further. And then the ground solidified. Now both of them were trapped. Crap.

Gai saw his new friend sink into the trap too. So now they were both caught. It was just a matter of time (probably seconds) before somebody turned them into pincushions. He had to do something fast or they were both dead. But what could he do with only one of his arms free? Both jutsu and punching the ground weren't an option. That left only opening the Celestial Gates. But how many? If he overdid it, he would just tire himself needlessly and might collapse of exhaustion before the battle was over. And it looked like he had to decide fast, because two Iwa ninja broke cover and were approaching them menacingly.

Before he could decide, a wooden construction appeared between them. He recognized it as one of Suna's puppets. The Iwa ninja recognized it too, judging by their surprised exclamation. Gai couldn't see what happened next, but then the puppet was withdrawn and the Iwa pair was lying on the ground dead.

"Look at you," a pleasant female voice spoke with amusement. "Caught in a trap like some Academy students." Gai turned around and saw the most curious sight. A beautiful woman in a long and probably expensive kimono, black hair styled in a complicated hairdo, was walking through the battlefield on platform sandals, looking like a geisha taking an afternoon stroll in the park. She was so completely out of place that Gai attempted another genjutsu release before he had to conclude that the woman was indeed there. Youkou didn't doubt his eyes or ears for a moment.

"Teono," he groaned. "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" she raised one perfect eyebrow. "Do I look like I'm in need of something? You on the other hand... You were so focused on crushing and frying everything that you completely missed the trap, weren't you?" Not waiting for their answer she continued. "I always told you, your style is too barbaric. All your might is nothing against trickery."

"Trickery is unyouthful," Gai grumbled. Even with his meager social skills he knew that criticizing his rescuer's methods was impolite, so he didn't shout it.

"Oh?" Teono turned to him. "Another barbarian. So pray tell me, how did you plan to get out of there, oh manly man?"

Gai punched the ground with his only free hand and it shattered. He knew it would, the chakra turning it into a trap disappeared the moment its caster died. Once freed, he helped Youkou out too. A look passed between the two men: our students mustn't learn about this.

"You could only do that only because I killed that Doton user for you," Teono pointed out.

"And I thank you for that, beautiful flower of Youth!" Gai bellowed in what he thought was his most charming voice accompanied with a blinding smile. Teono, a veteran of many battles and a kunoichi who prided herself in being scared of nothing, took an involuntary step back. During her moment of distraction Gai noticed movement behind her. He immediately started after the Iwa ninja who tried to catch her unawares. The man dodged Gai's initial attack, but found his face full of an angry scorpion the next moment, courtesy of Teono.

"It looks like you two have excellent teamwork," Youkou observed. He wanted to use it as an excuse to get away. He and Museitabi Teono just didn't mix.

"And it looks like there's an enemy setting an ambush where you want to go," the kunoichi retorted.

"Oh," Youkou said and sent a Katon that way. A scream let him know that he hit true. As the Rock ninja, his uniform aflame, tried to run away, he was stopped by Teono's puppet.

"You have excellent teamwork too!" Gai observed. "Let's fight the Rock ninja together!" Youkou shot him a murderous glare, but he said nothing. He could see more enemies approaching.

"Excellent idea," Teono said in a tone that might or might not be sarcastic. With her it was nigh impossible to tell. "Somebody has to keep an eye on you two children." And even if they didn't like it much, they stuck together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Fortress ruins~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The kunai came flying out of nowhere. Jiraiya almost ignored it, because it wasn't aimed directly at his body, but then he realized it would hit Naruto, whose prone, bloodied body he was carrying on his back. The Sannin dodged and turned to deal with the threat. There was no need to do so. The Iwa chuunin was hit by a Wind-charged kunai from Baki and quickly finished off by Gaara's sand. The white-haired man nodded at them to thank them and then they continued on their journey.

Jiraiya wished he could have one of his toads carry Naruto, but the problem with Toad summons was that they had ridiculously sensitive skin. Sure, they were powerful, knew many useful skills and could defeat very strong opponents, but if he was careless and summoned them somewhere dusty, with strange chemicals in the air or even not enough moisture, their skin would begin itching or worse in a few minutes and they would be pissed at him for months. Gamabunta still couldn't forgive him the time during the Second Shinobi War when he had summoned the Boss Toad to deal with some Suna ninja's Boss Summon in the middle of a salt desert. If Bunta was to be believed, his skin had blistered and bled and it took over a month to heal completely.

So now he was stuck carrying the prone boy on his back, which was limiting his movements greatly. Though Naruto didn't weight enough to slow him down seriously, any fast movement aggravated his wounds, so the Toad Sage had to be very careful while dodging or attacking. Gaara kept offering to carry Naruto in his sand, which made tactical sense, but Jiraiya wouldn't trust his godson to anyone else, especially after nearly losing him. So he made an excuse that if sand got into Naruto's wounds, it would worsen them. He just prayed that they wouldn't be attacked by enemies strong or numerous enough to make him regret it.

His prayers went unheeded. Just as they reached the collapsed outer wall of the fortress and relative safety was within sight, they were confronted by a platoon of Iwa shinobi, all of them looking very determined not to let them get out alive. He had only a fraction of a second to curse his rotten luck (Tsunade-level) before they attacked. The initial hail of kunai and shuriken was followed by a fireball and then a forest of rock spikes sprouted from the ground. Gaara's sand moved to intercept the attack, but could do nothing about the spikes. Jiraiya jumped away. A pained groan from his back reminded him that he really should cut down on the sudden movement. But it was easier said than done when there was a huge mud ball rolling towards him. He moved out of the way carefully, but realized there was a poison cloud in front of him. And yet another flock of shuriken was heading towards him.

"Hari Jizou!" His hair lengthened and enveloped him and Naruto completely. The rock-hard white spikes blocked the shuriken easily. The mudball rocked him a bit, but his defense held. The poison gas was more of a problem. He couldn't move his hair until it dispersed and he couldn't do anything about it from inside his cocoon. He could only hope that Baki would have the presence of mind to blow it away soon.

Baki at that moment had his hands full with his own problems. He was engaged in a fierce taijutsu battle with an Iwa jounin who danced around his Wind blades. The Suna jounin had no trouble holding his ground, but he saw little chance of winning this fight soon.

Gaara couldn't help them either. An Iwa chuunin rushed straight at him and when the redhead wrapped him in his sand, the Rock chuunin detonated all the Exploding Notes he had stuffed in his flak jacket pockets. There was really a lot of them. Even Gaara's sand couldn't absorb the blow completely. He was knocked away and landed on the ground. There he lay dazed, trying to make sense of the stars dancing in front of his eyes and the loud ringing in his ears.

The blast was so strong that it knocked even Baki down. He was lucky that his opponent lost his balance too, otherwise he would have been killed. As he struggled to his feet, he surveyed their situation. Gaara was down, Jiraiya was trapped in the poison mist and he could find at least five enemies still standing. From what he had seen of their capabilities, they were more than he could handle in his current nearly exhausted state.

Then the Iwa ninja at the back was tackled by a wooden puppet. His comrades turned to see what was going on just in time to see three giant dogs pouncing at them. Baki was grateful for the help. Most of their enemies were preoccupied fighting the new arrivals. But one wasn't. He just ducked under the kunai somebody threw at him and sprinted straight to the still dazed Gaara. His sand surged forward to defend, but if the Iwa ninja had Exploding Tags just like the last one, it wasn't going to be enough. Baki moved to intercept him, but his battered and exhausted body refused to move fast enough to be in time. But before he could despair, something white sprouted from the ground, wrapped around his feet and dragged him down. A moment later Jiraiya rose from the ground, his animated hair strangling the Iwa ninja.

"You didn't think you could defeat the Great Jiraiya, did you?" the Sannin scoffed. Whatever the response was, the Rock ninja didn't get to say it. He was too busy dying.

After that the skirmish ended quickly. With the five new arrivals the Konoha and Suna forces utilized their numerical advantage and wiped out the Iwa group in seconds.

"Naruto!" Hana cried when she spotted the bloodied form of her teammate. "What's wrong with him?"

"He got hit by Venomous Last Curse," Jiraiya answered. "It's a really nasty suicide jutsu. I sealed away the venom, but the damage was done. Anyone else in his place would be dead."

Hana could see that. People weren't supposed to be still alive with so much of their skin burned off. She immediately tried to heal him, but she had trouble activating her medical jutsu. She must be even more exhausted than she had thought.

"We have to get him to the medical tents," she said.

"Tell us something we don't know," Hotaru quipped. "But there's a battle around, in case you didn't notice."

"It's almost over now. They're losing and they know it. So now they're going to become even more dangerous," Jiraiya spoke.

"What do you mean?" Kaede asked.

"They don't think about holding the fortress anymore, just about taking us with them," the Toad Sage explained. "They're beginning to use dangerous and suicide techniques. Some of them are much more powerful than what a ninja of their caliber can usually cast. Just look what happened to Naruto." Nobody really wanted to look at the burnt flesh again, but they still did so. "Or Gaara. Somebody blew himself up to get him."

"I had no idea somebody could hit Gaara," Daiki spoke, his voice fearful.

"Nobody is invincible," the white-haired man shrugged. "But yours Gaara is quite hard to kill," he added when he saw the redhead sitting up, still looking a bit concussed.

"We're the biggest targets around here, aren't we?" Gennosuke realized.

"You're right," Jiraiya nodded. "If somebody took the lot of us out, it would be a huge blow to both Konoha and Suna."

"We should get out really fast," Kaede said.

"No arguing there," the Sannin agreed. "Let's go and be very careful."

* * *

And that's it for now.

Next time: Aftermath of the battle (finally).


	58. Toads

**Author's note:** Another chapter here. This one comes with an illustration. You can find it on my DA profile, well, you know the dril. Another piece of good news: There should be at least two fast updates after this one.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.** I write this purely for fun. Is there anyone who thinks stories on are for anything else?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Battlefield~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was hard to tell when exactly the battle ended. There wasn't any great bang to announce it. But gradually, when a Konoha or Suna ninja finished off his opponent and looked for another, they realized that they had to walk far to find one. Or there wasn't one in sight at all. All the Iwa ninja were either dead or escaped.

The cost of the victory was great. As the battle was nearing its end and the Iwagakure forces realized they were about to lose, they decided to take as much enemies down as they could. Whoever knew some dangerous forbidden and usually suicidal jutsu, picked the strongest Konoha or Suna ninja they could see and used it on them. Whoever had some Explosive Tags left, slapped them to their vest and hugged an enemy before blowing them all up. Those who had neither simply attacked with their last reserves of chakra and weapons. They died, but many shinobi of Suna and Konoha died with them. The battle was over, but the nightmare was only beginning.

The medical tents were overcrowded with patients. The medical ninja were trying their hardest to treat them, but there were too many and the medics were already feeling the strain. Among them Hana was struggling to stay upright. She ignored the glares her colleagues sent her for going into the battle instead of staying behind. She couldn't regret it. Rescuing her teammate came first and she had been able to help a lot. The Haimaru brothers' noses had helped them a lot on the way back, warning them of danger even the S-rank ninja in the group couldn't detect so easily. Thanks to them they were able to reach the medical tents without having to fight really strong or numerous enemies again. She had been so relieved when they finally reached the medical tents and could hand the horribly burnt Naruto and still slightly dazed Gaara to real doctors who still had some chakra left. Her relief disappeared when the medic took one look at Naruto and declared him a lost cause, because nobody could survive without his skin, but that man knew nothing about Naruto's regenerative abilities. New skin was already growing beneath the layers of blood and dust. With a little help of medical ninjutsu, Naruto would be alright in a couple of days.

After making sure that Naruto was going to make it, she was drafted to help the doctors. She overdosed on Soldier Pills to muster at least some chakra for her jutsu and even that energy was slowly but surely running out. Soon she'd be reduced to simply bandaging the wounds, if she wouldn't outright collapse. She definitely would be out of commission comes tomorrow or maybe even sooner. But it didn't matter. Her team was alive. They won the battle. Not everything was alright with the world, but she could hope that it would be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~After the battle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When morning came, the allied camp was still full of activity. Most of the wounded were already taken to the medical tents, but that didn't mean there was nothing left to do. All around the survivors of the battle were searching for their friends and teammates, some of them rejoicing upon finding them alive, others crying openly when they found out their precious people were dead. For once the shinobi rule #25 was being broken shamelessly and nobody cared.

Close to one of the medical tents Teono-sensei was debriefing her team, commenting on their good teamwork and bad combat abilities. She promised them tougher training to whip them into shape, but berated them not to forget strategy, lest they'd end up like certain musclehead excuses for ninja she knew and couldn't stand. Even if she didn't say any names, her team knew who she meant. Her rivalry with Youkou was legendary in Suna.

A bit away, Museitabi Asami and Mitarashi Anko were exchanging tips on being creepy, sexy and scarily creepily sexy. The men who were unfortunate enough to catch bits of their conversation turned pale and ran as fast as their legs would carry them. They still felt that it wasn't far enough. Even if they ran as far as Tea Country, it wouldn't be.

Right in the middle of the camp, Maito Gai and Youkou and their teams were deciding the result of their Youthful/Spirited contest, much to the chagrin of all the other shinobi in the camp who wished they would take it somewhere else. Preferably another continent.

"So how many Iwa ninja have you killed?" Youkou asked his students.

"We lost count," Mizue admitted sheepishly.

"We lost count too," Tenten said, looking at Gai-sensei apologetically.

"That's unyouthful!" the Green Beast of Konoha exclaimed. "How can we decide our Youthful contest now?" Youkou nodded. It was bad enough that their own private contest remained undecided. Though if he were completely honest with himself, he'd have to concede that they both lost and Teono had won. But he disliked the woman too much to ever admit she was superior at anything.

"How can we prove our Blazing Spirits are superior?" The three genin and three chuunin looked at each other. Now was the time to begin their master plan.

"We joined our forces to defeat more enemies," Mizue said.

"Together we were unstoppable," Toshiro added.

"We crushed the Iwa ninja twice as fast together," Tenten said.

"They couldn't stand against our joined forces," Neji added.

"Is that so?" Gai asked. They all nodded. "I'm so proud of my youthful students!" And he really was. He and Youkou needed Teono's intervence to begin cooperating, but their students had figured it out on their own. He hugged them tearfully. The Suna team watched them with pity in their eyes in the moment before Youkou hugged them tearfully. Then they shared a look of commiseration.

"Your spirits blaze truly brightly! Much more than ours! We old men wanted a contest, but you saw that the way to go is cooperation and friendship! You are going to surpass us soon!" The Suna team felt actually proud.

"So true!" Gai exclaimed. "Friendship is the youthful way to go! And to strengthen our bonds of friendship, we'll have a youthful training session together!"

"Yes, Gai sensei!" Lee exclaimed, already looking forward to the undoubtedly grueling training.

"Excellent idea!" Youkou agreed. "That way our bond will become even stronger and our spirits will blaze even brighter!"

Everybody else looked at each other in sheer terror. Their master plan had failed. They weren't going to escape the special training no matter what they did. They could just pray that they would survive it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Medical tent~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto woke in the afternoon. He groaned because his whole body felt as if it was on fire. He opened his eyes a crack and saw a white bedcover and his hand completely covered in bandages.

"So you're finally awake."

"Gaara," Naruto recognized the voice. A quick look around revealed that he was sharing the hospital tent with the Sand Siblings and eight more shinobi he didn't recognize. It was really overcrowded. The battle must have been really brutal. Come to think of it, how did it end? He couldn't remember. "The battle?"

"We won," the redhead boy answered.

"Good," Naruto sighed. "My teammates?"

"They stopped by earlier." Naruto sighed gratefully. So Hana and Hotaru were alright. He just regretted he hadn't been able to help them, even if they didn't really need to be protected. There were many of his comrades who needed his strength and he wasn't there to help them during the last part of the battle. Now what had knocked him out? His mind was a bit hazy on that.

He squeezed his eyes shut and remembered. The first thing he recalled was pain. Terrible pain. It almost made him stop, but he preserved. He needed to remember further back to find out what had hurt him so much. There was fighting, fighting, some more fighting... blood and gore paraded in front of his eyes, but still nothing told him what had injured him so. Ah, there it was. The Iwa kunoichi and some weird suicide technique. His whole body hurt even more when he remembered that.

"I'm so pathetic," he said opening his eyes. Gaara stared at him blankly. "Just one ninja nearly took me out."

"You were tired from the battle," Gaara pointed out.

"Still, I should have been better," Naruto insisted. "You could kill assassins when you were six and I couldn't even beat one kunoichi now that I'm ten."

"My sand helped a lot."

"Yeah, your sand," Naruto sighed. "You know, I feel jealous. You get a kickass power from your demon and I got nothing. I got the Kyuubi and it gave me no super ability. It just isn't fair." Gaara didn't know what to say to that, so he stayed silent.

"I'm rambling like some old man," Naruto shook his head after a while. "I really shouldn't be complaining. I got a lot of strength, so who needs some cheap ability."

"You don't sound very convincing," Gaara spoke.

"You're right," Naruto admitted. "I feel cheated. I know it's stupid. I'll just have to work hard to become stronger."

"You already are strong."

"Not quite enough." There was no way to argue that.

"You can become stronger. We both can," Gaara spoke.

"You're right," Naruto smiled. He will become stronger. He could only hope that he'd manage it soon enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The camp~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Sand Siblings were leaving that day, alongside with most of the Suna forces. Temari and Kankurou were cleared for travel, but Gaara was going to carry them in his sand, much to their mortification. Temari protested that she could walk on her own and Kankurou wanted to ride one of his puppets, but Gaara ignored their protest, saying that they were still injured and he was going to take care of them, like a proper brother should. Naruto, who was finally well enough to get out of bed and had limped to bid them farewell, fell over laughing at their antics. Eventually Kankurou and Temari were seated in Gaara's sand and after a last goodbye the trio took off. Naruto slowly limped back to his bed. He had still a lot of recovering to do before he could train again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near the battlefield~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as he was released from the infirmary, Naruto headed for a clearing not far away from the fortress. His freshly-regenerated skin was still overly sensitive, but he didn't let the occasionally painful sensation deter him. The last battle gave him a lot to think about. Among it was prominent the thought that he might have to do something like this again. He really didn't like the idea. There were too many close brushes with death. He knew that he was still alive only through sheer dumb luck. Next time it might not hold. And Naruto really didn't want to die.

That brought him to the next conclusion: he was too weak. He could deal with most chuunin no problem, but whenever his clones ran into a jounin, they got dispelled fast. This wasn't a new realization, he had known he wasn't strong enough to defeat a jounin without Kyuubi's assistance before, but this battle brought home just how much it mattered.

"I have to get stronger," he said to no-one in particular. "And I have to do it fast."

He decided that a good way to go about it would be completing his Wind Rasengan, as he called the yet hypothetical jutsu in his mind. If he could do that, he could have torn down the fortress' walls easily. He could have shredded all the Earth Walls and Stone Skins the Iwa ninja used to defend against his attacks. If he just had such an awesome jutsu, he would be unstoppable. The rational part of his brain was telling him that there's no way it would be so easy, but he told it to shut up. The Wind Rasengan just sounded too awesome to worry about such details as its practical use. And besides a trump card was exactly what was missing in his technique arsenal. So working on this was the smart thing to do. And if Kyuubi wouldn't grant him some kickass power, he'd have to develop his own. At least he could say so to anybody who would ask.

With that thought he started the actual training. He extended his hand, palm upwards, concentrated Wind chakra and started spinning it. It was a bit easier than when he had first begun his training. Or maybe it was just his wishful thinking. It had been only about two weeks and he didn't have the opportunity to train every day. But whether he was really improving or not, he was still at the beginning. The chakra wasn't concentrated enough and didn't spin nearly fast enough. He didn't even want to think about how long it would take before this technique would be anywhere near completion. Was it even worth it? Then he thought about how awesome the result would be. Hell yeah, this was totally worth years of effort. And in the meantime this training could help him improve his Whirlwind Fist. Probably.

"What are you doing, gaki?" Naruto nearly jumped as the voice spoke right behind him. The chakra in his palm dissipated.

"Jiraiya! What are you doing here?"

"Testing your situational awareness. If I were an Iwa ninja, you would have been dead already. And you know there might still be Iwa ninja around."

"Yes," Naruto answered sheepishly. "But I didn't want anyone to see this."

"Gaki, you can train in private in Konoha, but not here," the Sannin chastised him.

"I laid traps around," the chuunin defended.

"They weren't much," Jiraiya countered. Naruto looked ashamed. "So what are you practicing? Or is it a secret?"

"Well..." the blond boy mused for a moment whether he should answer or not. "I thought about making the Rasengan from Wind chakra."

"We already talked about it. You have to first master the regular Rasengan before you can add elemental nature to it."

"Now you mention it, we did," Naruto spoke. "But I already mastered the Rasengan. See?" He created a perfect chakra sphere in his right hand.

"Well, that's really good," Jiraiya praised him. "You can start adding elemental nature to it now. But it's something even the Yondaime couldn't do."

"I don't get it," Naruto frowned. "Why do you insist I have to first make the Rasengan and then add chakra nature? That's backwards. I start with the element first and then mold it into shape."

"That's extremely difficult," the Sannin pointed out.

"I noticed," the boy grimaced.

"No progress?"

"Well, yes," Naruto admitted, "but I barely started."

"I still think you're going at it the wrong way," the white-haired man insisted. "You should start with the shape first and then add element."

"But that's something even the Fourth couldn't do. So maybe that's the wrong way to do it," the boy speculated.

"Maybe," Jiraiya shrugged. "When you work on a new jutsu, you never know what's right and what's wrong until you try. It took Minato three years to complete the basic Rasengan. This is bound to take even longer."

"I know," Naruto sighed. "Even if I reduce the time using Shadow Clones, it's still too long."

"So what do you want to do in the meantime?" Jiraiya inquired. "You can't concentrate on a jutsu you might not even complete and neglect other training. That would get you killed, especially during wartime."

"I know. I train other things too. That's why this is going so slow."

"And you need to improve fast," the white-haired man pointed out.

"I know," Naruto sighed.

"So what do you say I'll teach you an awesome jutsu?"

"Really?" the boy perked up. He was always all for learning a new technique, especially if it was supposed to be awesome.

"Really," the man confirmed. "It's something very few people can do."

"So what is it?" Naruto asked with stars in his eyes. Instead of answering, Jiraiya removed the giant scroll from his back and unrolled it dramatically. The white-haired pervert just couldn't help it and had to do everything dramatically, though now it seemed appropriate. Naruto peeked into the scroll. There he saw a list of names written in... was it brown ink? The boy decided that it was safer to think so. Under each name was a handprint. Naruto saw Jiraiya's name among them.

"Impressed?" the Sannin asked. "You should be. This is the one and only Toad contract."

"Really?" Naruto's eyes were shining with excitement. Summoning contracts were rare, almost legendary, and highly prized. Those who held them chose very carefully who else would be allowed to sign them. Naruto had never expected to as much as see one.

"Of course," Jiraiya nodded. "What are you waiting for?" he asked when Naruto was just staring at the scroll in reverence. "Sign it in blood and then make a handprint under it."

"I can?" Naruto still couldn't believe his good fortune.

"Of course," Jiraiya nodded.

"Thanks!" Naruto laughed and sliced his palm. He quickly signed his name and pressed his palm underneath before Jiraiya could change his mind.

"Now the handseals are Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram," the Toad Sage explained. "Smear some of your blood on the palm you had signed the contract with and then slam it onto the ground. Watch." He summoned a man-sized red toad. "Did you catch it?" Naruto nodded. "Now it's your turn."

Naruto took a deep breath, cut his finger again, smeared the blood on his right palm, concentrated his chakra, performed the seals, slammed his right palm into the ground and watched what would happen. There was a cloud of smoke, a rather small one. When it dispersed, it revealed a tiny tadpole writhing on the ground. Naruto looked at it in dismay.

"Looks like you have no talent for this," Jiraiya commented. The big red toad croaked. It sounded as if it was laughing at Naruto. The boy dismissed the poor tadpole.

"I'm going to do it, watch it," the chuunin said. He tried the jutsu again, this time using more chakra. The result was the same. "Again," Naruto scowled dismissing the tadpole. Three times is the charm, so he was going to do it now. He used as much chakra as he could muster. This time he summoned a bigger tadpole. He stared at it with disbelief. Why wouldn't the jutsu work?

He was about to ask when a small green toad suddenly appeared and spat out a scroll. Jiraiya unrolled it and read it quickly. His face turned serious.

"I have to go," he said. "Continue training. Bye!" And then he was gone and the toads too. Naruto sighed. Now he had nobody to ask for tips. He returned to summoning tadpoles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Training~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto grunted in frustration as the tadpole disappeared in a puff of smoke. At least this one had hind legs, though it wasn't much of a progress. What was he doing wrong? He had the handseals right. He was putting in enough chakra. He was sure he was putting in more chakra than Jiraiya did to summon his man-sized toad. His control was adequate too. So why didn't a fully-formed toad appear? He'd think that with all the effort he put into it, he should get one at least as big as a dog. Even if said dog was one of those tiny floor brushes with legs some rich ladies liked to keep. He wished he could ask someone to help, but with Jiraiya off to who-knows where there was no-one else who would know how this particular summoning worked. And even if he felt desperate enough to actually read about it, there was no library around he could find a book or a scroll in. He had no choice but to figure it out on his own.

'Back to basics,' he thought. So what was he doing wrong? He got the handseals right. He pushed in enough chakra. And... hey, that might be it. He didn't really envision what the chakra was supposed to do and will it to do so, because he had no idea what exactly it was supposed to do. If he could just ask Jiraiya... but the Toad Sage would probably make him figure it out on his own anyway.

So what should he imagine the chakra doing? Forming a toad? No, Kuchiyose no Jutsu didn't create toads, it summoned them. Took them from one place and made them appear in front of the summoner. But how exactly was he supposed to envision this? He had no prior experience with space-time ninjutsu. Well, aside from summoning tadpoles, he thought looking at the small puddle the water dripping from the tadpoles left on the ground. He could use this as a guide.

He concentrated his chakra again and slowly performed the required seals. This time he thought hard about what was supposed to happen. _A red toad was sitting_ _near a puddle. He calls on it. The place near the puddle and here become the same spot. The toad appears here. _He slammed his bloodied palm on the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" This puff of smoke was noticeably bigger than the previous one. That seemed promising, but Naruto didn't dare to hope, just waited for what the cloud would reveal.

The being inside was red. It was also small. Tiny, indeed. But as Naruto examined it carefully, he saw that it had four legs and no tail. It was a fully-formed toad. Finally! Naruto punched the air in excitement.

"Yo!" the toad said. "So you're the new summoner I've heard about?" Naruto looked at the toad closely. It was about as big as a regular toad, bright orange with deep purple markings and it was wearing a blue vest. From its general appearance and manner of speech Naruto deduced that it's a very young one and a boy. Probably. Now that Naruto thought about it, he realized he had no idea how to tell apart male and female toads. That might lead to some awkward situations in the future. Not that Naruto had a problem with awkwardness.

"Hello," the blond boy greeted. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"I'm Gamakichi," the toad replied. "Do you have any sweets?"

"Uh, I have just some field rations," Naruto answered.

"Well, that's good too," Gamakichi shrugged. He looked at the young summoner eagerly, obviously expecting a treat.

"Really?" Naruto asked dubiously. "Did you ever have a field ration bar before?"

"No," the tiny toad replied. "I can't wait to try them." The expression on his face made it clear that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Alright," Naruto said, reaching into his pouch for some ration bars. He hoped that his summon wouldn't start hating him the moment he tried them and tasted just how yucky they were. "Here you are."

"Thanks!" Gamakichi exclaimed. Then he shot out his really long tongue, grabbed the ration bar that was about as big as his body and swallowed it whole. Naruto just blinked. How did it even fit inside? Did he see that right or were his eyes playing tricks on him?

"It's great," Gamakichi smiled. "Have more, bro?" Naruto blinked again. Now his ears were playing tricks on him as well. Never ever he had heard about somebody actually liking the taste of field rations. Sure, many people praised their nutritional qualities and were grateful for them when they were starving, but they all swore they would rather eat their shoes than another ration bar. But this little toad was staring at him hopefully, sincerely wanting another taste. Naruto couldn't understand it until he realized that Gamakichi was a toad and probably had quite different tastes from humans.

"Sure," he said, offering another bar to the small summon. The toad grabbed it, but didn't even try to eat it. Maybe he didn't like it after all?

"I have to bring one home for Gamatatsu," Gamakichi said. "He's just a tadpole, but he already eats more than a grown toad. He'll love this."

"Who's Gamatatsu?" Naruto asked.

"My little bro," Gamakichi answered. "He must be worried where did I go. I have to go. Bye!" And he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto stared at the empty space he used to occupy for a while longer. He didn't like his summon leaving him like this and he didn't like his first summon being a useless baby, but hey, he had finally summoned a real toad. He grinned. He finally got the summoning right. Now it was just a matter of some more training before he could summon huge toads at will. He wanted to try right away, but he had already bled enough in the last two days. Any more and he'd feel the blood loss. Summoning could wait. He should train something else. Like the Wind Rasengan. He started spinning Wind chakra in his hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they returned to Konoha, they saw a figure waiting for them at the gates.

"Tenzo-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed. "You're alright already!"

"Did you think I'll stay in the hospital forever?" the jounin smiled.

"Our team is complete again," Hana smiled. Her dogs barked in agreement.

"Still, took you too long," Hotaru remarked. "We could really use you in the battle."

"What was it like?"

They spent next twenty minutes telling him about it.

"So where's your sword?" Tenzo asked after a while.

"Wish I knew," Naruto sighed with a shrug.

"A ninja should keep track of his weapons," Tenzo scowled. "Otherwise he's a dead ninja."

"I was too busy keeping track of incoming jutsu," Naruto replied. "Otherwise I'd be a deader ninja. And I couldn't find it after the battle."

"You still shouldn't have lost it," the jounin insisted.

"I'd like to see you try," Naruto grumbled. "Did you never lose your sword?"

"No," was the flat answer.

"You should have known better than to ask that," Hotaru smiled. "He's the awesome former Anbu after all."

"Don't you ever forget it," Tenzo reminded them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Training grounds~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Naruto was training a few days later, he was startled by Jiraiya suddenly appearing next to him.

"A ninja should keep better track of his surroundings," the Toad Sage lectured.

"We're in Konoha!" Naruto replied.

"That doesn't mean we're safe," the white, haired man pointed out.

"I know," the boy sighed.

"So have you learnt the Kuchiyose no Jutsu already?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes," Naruto grinned.

"Show me," the Sannin prompted. Naruto nodded and bit his thumb. Five handseals later he slammed his blood-smeared palm on the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he called. There was a small puff of smoke and Gamakichi appeared.

"Yo!" he greeted cheerfully. "Got any sweets?" Naruto threw him the candy he had prepared just for this occasion. Whenever he trained the summoning, he usually got Gamakichi instead of some actually useful toad. It was a bit frustrating. But he really liked the tiny toad.

"Hello Gamakichi," Jiraiya greeted. "Last time I saw you, you were just a tadpole."

"Hi, Jiraiya. Have you any snacks?"

"Uh..." the Sannin searched his pockets frantically. Naruto sighed and pulled out a bag of sweets he had began carrying around for just this occasion.

"Thanks!" Gamakichi didn't care where his food came from. "So what are we doing today?"

"Jiraiya just wanted to see if I can summon."

"Oh," the toad looked a bit disappointed. "Then I'll bring these to Gamatatsu." He grabbed the bag of sweets and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"I guess it was alright," Jiraiya assessed Naruto's performance. "Now you just need more training. But don't annoy the Toads by calling them too often."

"Alright," Naruto nodded. "So what do you want?"

"Why do you think I want something?" Jiraiya made an effort to look hurt.

"You usually do when you show up. So what is it this time?"

"You're right." The self-proclaimed Super-pervert sounded serious for once. "I came to tell you we're going on another mission. And it's a big one."

"Another big action?" Naruto groaned. "So soon?"

"Yes," Jiraiya confirmed. "Remember how I told you about the Raikage's competence being questioned?" Naruto nodded. "Well, he decided that the best way to show his prowess would be to start a new offensive. And he can't afford to lose, so he's going all out. He even sent Bee with the attack force."

"Bee?"

"You might have heard of him. Jinchuuriki of the Hachibi. He's known as the perfect host. And it's true. No-one else can control their Bijuu as well as he does."

"How does he do it?" Naruto asked, thinking about his trouble with the Kyuubi. If he could make the beast obey him...

"Nobody knows," Jiraiya shrugged.

"So Kumo is attacking Oto?"

"No," the Sannin shook his head. "As they don't know where Oto is either, they did the next best thing and attacked us."

"That sucks," Naruto commented. "So I'm supposed to fight Bee?"

"No," the Toad Sage shook his head. "You'd get slaughtered. Killer Bee is an elite jounin even when he isn't using his tenant. Leave fighting him to others."

"So what do you want me to do?" the boy questioned.

"You know what it means that the Kumo's latest attack is all out?" Jiraiya countered the question with another question.

"That it's really strong and hard to stop?" his pupil guessed.

"Well, that's unfortunately true, but it has another meaning. Can you figure out what?"

Naruto thought about it for a while. "Where did he suddenly get so many ninja?"

"Now you're getting it," Jiraiya smiled. "He weakened the garrison of Kumogakure. So we're going to show him why it was a bad idea."

"Are we going to siege Kumo?" Naruto asked fearfully. Fighting the perfect host of the Hachibi suddenly didn't sound so scary.

"We don't have enough manpower for that. We're going for a simple hit-and-run attack. Sneak in, cause havoc and as much damage as we can, get out before they can retaliate."

"That still sounds dangerous," the chuunin remarked.

"It is," Jiraiya admitted. "But now you've signed the Toad contract, you can get out of there using reverse summoning."

"I've never done that before."

"It's easy," the white-haired man reassured him. "You don't have to do anything. The Toads will take care of it."

"I still don't like it," Naruto frowned.

"You don't have to like it," Jiraiya sighed. "I don't like it either, but unfortunately it's an order."

* * *

And that's it for today. The fight for the fortress is finally over.

Next time: The attack on Kumogakure


	59. In the clouds

**Author's note:** Another chapter here. You're lucky I've had it prewritten or the review response would have put me into serious creative depression and you'd have to wait a long time for another update. I hope this chapter is more to your liking.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Nothing's changed in that regard.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kumogakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The journey to Kumo was mostly uneventful. They travelled through Fire Country to Hot Springs Country, where they took a ship to Water Country, another ship to another part of Water Country, before boarding yet another ship to Lightning Country. They changed their appearances in every port to make tracking them impossible. At first Naruto was excited about the prospect of sailing for the first time in his life, but the novelty had quickly worn off. All the sea travel was boring, considering they had to maintain their disguise as civilians constantly, except for that one time a storm came and nearly sank the ship, but they arrived at their destination safely. Then followed the long walk through the mountains towards where the Village Hidden in the Clouds was. Naruto supposed that under another circumstances he'd enjoy this trip, but now he couldn't truly appreciate the scenic beauty of the landscape when he expected a Cloud ninja to jump out from behind every rock.

As they came closer to Kumogakure, the ninja patrols on the roads increased. It took all Naruto's self-control not to jump every time he caught the sight of a flak-jacket. But that would have blown his disguise, because the persona he was currently using, a young peasant girl, shouldn't be able to see them at all.

They stopped for the night in a roadside inn a few hours travel from their destination. They didn't exchange any words, in case somebody was listening, Jiraiya just gave Naruto a nod. They have both gone over what should be done now many times before. They knew by heart what final preparations to infiltrate Kumogakure they had to do. Naruto didn't have to do anything; his disguise had been determined good enough and his travel pass also capable of holding out even under a close inspection. Jiraiya had it harder. He was too well-known to risk just walking towards the main gate, no matter how carefully he concealed his appearance. But he wasn't Konoha's spymaster for nothing and he knew several tricks for how to get into places he wasn't supposed to be in and the guards were expecting him to try. A minute later the tall man was gone and there was only a tiny toad on the floor, no bigger than a fingernail. Naruto found it fascinating how somebody as huge as Jiraiya could hide in something so minuscule. A part of him wanted to learn the technique too. A bigger part of him was scared that somebody saw them, somebody felt the chakra used for it and that Kumo ninja were going to barge through the door any moment now, no matter how much had Jiraiya assured him that the technique was undetectable.

When nothing happened for ten minutes, Naruto's racing heart finally slowed down to normal rate. He still wasn't calm, but at least he wasn't so nervous even a civilian would notice anymore. He could embark on the last part on his journey. He picked up the tiny toad, hid it in his sleeve and walked out of the inn.

He felt very exposed without Jiraiya's reassuring presence at his back. The Kumo patrols in the area intensified as he came within sight of the Hidden Village. He kept expecting a kunai in his back any moment and it took all his self-control not to show it on his face. He almost sighed in relief when he reached Kumo's gates. Though it meant that the hardest part of the infiltration was right before him, the waiting was over and that made him feel much better.

Though the waiting wasn't quite over just yet. There was a queue in front of the gates and Naruto had to wait before his turn came. He quickly scanned the situation and realized that there were two lines – one for pedestrians and the other for merchants with carts full of their wares. He stood in the pedestrian line and waited. It was a form of torture, but he endured.

Just as it was almost his turn, he got a bit of a lucky break. One supply cart was just declared clear by the guards and waved inside. Naruto made an exaggerated stretching motion and 'accidentally' brushed his hand on the cart. He felt a movement within his sleeve, as the toad carrying Jiraiya recognized the opportunity and jumped onto the cart. It immediately disappeared under a roll of cloth, so nobody saw it. Then the cart passed the gates. One-half of infiltration successful. Now only he had to pass through.

It turned out that he had worried for nothing. His travelling pass, either forged or stolen, he didn't know, was good enough to fool the guards. A young girl didn't seem like a threat to them either, though one of the chuunin manning the gate decided to bodily search him with a perverted leer. Naruto cringed, but endured. His transformation was solid and he had no weapons or any other contraband they might find suspicious. Then a Kumo kunoichi shouted at the man searching him to stop perving, because there were still a lot of people to check, and Naruto was released. He didn't bother to hide his sigh of relief; it was expected of a civilian in his situation. He thanked the woman for saving him and walked on.

Sneaking into a hidden village during wartime really should have been harder. Not that it had been easy, but the fact that they had gotten in at all proved that Kumo's security just wasn't enough. But that worked in their favor. Well, Kumo was going to up their security soon, but it was going to be too late for them. Ah, stop the idle thoughts, it was time to concentrate on the mission. He was still in very hostile territory and the slightest mistake could cause his death or capture. He had to stay on guard. With that thought Naruto finally entered Kumogakure.

Once he walked through the gate, he could finally see the Village hidden in the Clouds in its full glory. And glorious it was. Naruto had to marvel at the difference between it and his home. While Konoha had a warm, homey feeling, Kumo had majestic beauty. Everything was grand here, or at least looked that way. The high, steep mountains surrounding it, the tall buildings resembling beehives, and the Raikage tower, seemingly built upside down on the side of the tallest mountain around. It was breathtaking. 'And we're supposed to...' For a moment, Naruto felt a pang in his heart. Could he really do what he was supposed to? He knew it was for the good of Konoha, at least Jiraiya had said so, but...

"Takes your breath away, doesn't it?" a man's voice interrupted his thoughts. Naruto jumped despite the good humor he heard in the voice. Had he been discovered already? He turned to see a middle-aged Kumo chuunin standing next to him.

"First time in the village?" The Cloud ninja asked. Naruto nodded. He didn't quite trust his voice yet. He wasn't being dragged off to the cells yet, so everything was probably still alright, but the effects of the scare were still lingering. "We get this reaction a lot," the Kumo chuunin chuckled. "Well, enjoy your stay here." Then he slapped Naruto on the back merrily and sent him on his way.

The boy walked away in a daze. The Kumo shinobi had actually been nice to him. And he was going to... He didn't want to finish the thought. It was bad enough that he would have to do it soon. Did he really have to? The lives of countless Konoha shinobi depended on it. He had to do it otherwise many would die. Tenzo, Hana and Hotaru might die if he failed here. They could die even if he succeeded, a small voice pointed out. Naruto wished he could tell it to shut up, but he couldn't deny that it was right. He still didn't want to do it, but he had to. He had his orders and he was going to trust his superiors to know what they were doing. Well, he was going to hope they knew it.

'Back to the mission before someone notices me standing here and finds me suspicious,' Naruto thought. He resumed walking down the street, looking for a good place to start. He tried not to think about all the people in the streets, going about their business and looking just like the people in Konoha. It was harder than he had thought and he quickly realized that he couldn't quite do it. He just repeated to himself that he had to and tried not to think about it much. He wondered how long his resolve would last. A part of him wanted to begin the operation immediately, but he had to wait for Jiraiya's signal. All this would have no purpose if the Toad Sage didn't manage his part of the job. Naruto had no idea how long it was going to take him, but he estimated it would be hours. He had to find a place to wait.

He walked through the streets, taking in the sights. The buildings here were different, the fashions were different, but the people weren't. If he closed his eyes, he could think he was in Konoha. And he was supposed to... Could he really do it? It was for Konoha, but suddenly the argument lost weight. He felt he was going to be sick and he hadn't even done anything yet.

His feet carried him to a local park. There he sat on an unoccupied bench and stared. He could see two children of perhaps four or five years playing in a sandbox, their mothers sitting nearby and exchanging gossip, one of them knitting, the other rocking a baby. It was one of the most peaceful sights he had ever seen. And he was supposed to destroy it. Suddenly he felt like the worst trash. He looked away. 'Just the ninja,' Jiraiya had said. But even that didn't make it any better. He could see a genin team, the lot of them probably not even ten years old yet, picking litter on the far side of the park. He remembered doing a similar mission back when he was still a genin. 'Just the high-level ninja,' he decided. Then he saw two teenage chuunin, a boy and a girl, the boy inviting her on a date and the girl playing hard to get, but the subtle blush on her cheeks suggested that she was going to give in soon. Naruto almost felt sick.

"Are you alright?" The boy nearly had a heart attack when the voice spoke right next to him. He thought he had been found out, but it was just a grandmotherly woman with a concerned look on her face. "Young girls shouldn't look so morose. What has you so down?"

Naruto fed her a tale about problems with her boyfriend. It sounded completely ridiculous and he was sure he couldn't keep it straight, but the woman just nodded sagely and offered advice to deal with his made-up problem. Naruto got so enthralled in it that he almost forgot the real reason he was here.

Then an explosion sounded in the distance and a cloud of smoke rose above the village. 'Jiraiya!' Naruto thought. Now the Gama Sennin did his part, it was Naruto's turn. He had to provide the distraction. The mission was on and there was no longer any space for hesitation. He jumped from the bench and knocked out the lady that had been talking to him. A quick handseal and the park was filled with Kage Bunshin. They wasted no time and attacked the closest ninja they could find. As the clones ran into the surrounding streets and the park slowly emptied, Naruto created another batch to replace them. Then he found a place shielded from view and quickly summoned a small toad. It wasn't any good for fighting, but it was going to get him out of here once the Kumo ninja put together an organized defense. Then there was nothing left to do other than creating more clones and sending them to fight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Streets of Kumo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This sucks," Nukui complained loudly as he and his teammates carried heavy bags of groceries towards their client's house. "Why are we stuck doing D-ranks when everybody left for war?"

"We are just genin," Yuu reminded him.

"We've been genin for over a year now," Nukui pointed out. "Others our age are already at the frontlines and we're stuck here. Everybody's gathering experience and fame and we're being errand boys and nannies. It's so unfair."

"It might be because of our stellar mission performance," Ai suggested sarcastically.

"Oh, come on, we didn't fail that many missions," Nukui whined.

"But we failed them quite spectacularly," the kunoichi reminded him.

"That was bad luck," Nukui stated. "Otherwise we'd be already chuunin."

"I wouldn't be so sure about you," Yuu muttered.

"But it's the truth," Nukui stated. "How are we supposed to get a promotion if we don't get anywhere near the action?"

"You know, a lot of people would be happy they didn't have to be in the thick of the action," Yuu pointed out.

"They're cowards. Dammit, I want to see some battle!" Almost as soon as Nukui finished his exclamation, the street was suddenly swarmed by dozens of identical young girls. Before the three genin could blink in surprise, they attacked the ninja around them.

"You just had to say it," Ai muttered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kumogakure~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto created another wave of clones to replace the one that was currently being destroyed. Kumo shinobi had finally gotten over their shock and mounted an organized defense. Now a line of jounin was pushing through his doppelgangers. No matter how many more he created, the clones just weren't powerful enough to stand against the elite of Kumogakure. It was time to get out of here.

He raised his arm to give the sign to the Toad accompanying him. But before it could do anything, Naruto startled as the memories of clones being dispelled hit him. He almost missed the warning. So many clones were popping at once that he didn't have the mental capacity to make sense of all their memories. But so many nearly identical memories stood out a bit.

Naruto turned around and tried to dodge, but there was no way he could make it. Some big shape encased in lightning flashed next to him, continuing on its way without paying any further attention to him.

It was only when Naruto started falling to the ground that he realized he had been wounded. It had happened so fast the pain didn't even register until he hit the ground. But then it struck with a vengeance, as if trying to make up for the lost time. The boy could just stare at the hole in his side. 'I'm going to die here,' he thought when he realized just how big chunk of his body was missing. And there was too much pain to think of much else.

But something in him refused to just lie and die. There was a voice growling, snarling. Naruto listened to it. He couldn't think of anything else. He couldn't think of anything. There was just too much pain and he couldn't breathe. His right arm moved on its own, reaching into the stream of his blood. Then there was red heat. Everything still hurt, but he felt detached now, as if it was somebody else's pain. He stood up. The wound in his side wasn't bothering him as much now, it was already closing. He wanted to rip somebody apart, but that was nobody nearby aside from his clones.

Then the lightning-encased shape appeared in front of him again. He now recognized it as a man. The man was charging at him so fast. Naruto raised his arms and tails in defense, but he could see that he was too slow. And then the scene suddenly disappeared. There was a flash of colors, some voices calling, beings around him _**"Rip them apart!" **_then there was a shock of pain and then nothing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kumo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The devastation all around them was terrible. Though Ai had seen worse, this time the destruction happened to Kumogakure. It was something that was hard to wrap her mind around. How could it have happened? Kumo was supposed to be secure. So how? If she was superstitious, she'd think that Nukui had called it, but she wasn't. She knew that they were at war and that an enemy attack might happen, but for the Hidden Cloud Village itself to be invaded without any warning, that was unexpected and unbelievable. How could this have happened? She had no idea. But she was just a genin and not a very good one to boot. It was up to the village leadership to figure out how did it happen and prevent it from happening again. The thought that this might happen again sent cold shivers down her spine. If this tragedy repeated... She didn't want to even finish the thought.

"It looks like they're gone now," she said to the huddled, scared bunch of civilians she had been protecting. The moment she had seen the army of clones appear and the first chuunin to be cut down, she realized they stood no chance. Call her a coward, but she wanted to live. Yet she didn't want to completely abandon her duty to the people of Kumo. So she helped some civilians frozen with shock to get into a nearby house and stood at guard over them, prepared to protect them if need be. Fortunately they weren't attacked. The enemy was concentrating on ninja. Mostly.

Nukui, the hothead that he was, just had to charge in head on, not even waiting for his teammates to support him. He didn't even get within striking distance. He was hit by a Fuuton jutsu strong enough to pick him off his feet and slam him into a nearby wall. The genin slumped down motionlessly. Ai had no idea whether he was alive or not. She was pretty sure that some of the civilians caught in the same blast were dead or at least seriously wounded.

Seeing that, Yuu, who had been at first determined to do his duty as a Kumo ninja despite his fear, decided that staying to fight would be suicide and joined Ai in protecting the civilians. This way they were both out of harm's way and they could still claim they had fulfilled their duty. So they were cowards, but at least they were living cowards. Ai personally preferred that over dead heroes.

"It seems so," Yuu agreed. The street was quiet expect the sound of somebody crying and flames crackling. She couldn't see the source of either sound.

"Do you think it's safe to come out now?" she asked.

"I think so," Yuu answered. He carefully moved towards the exit. He checked the outside without leaving the cover. The street was empty except for the occasional body. "All clear," he said and stepped out. Ai followed him. Now she got a really good look on just how much damage the invasion had caused. Even on a street as small as this one a house had collapsed and another was burning. And there were bodies. Mostly ninja that had tried to stop the attack, but also civilians who had the bad luck to be out when it started.

Behind her Ai could hear footsteps as the civilians braved to come out too. There was a desperate wail as one woman recognized her husband among the casualties. That reminded the kunoichi of her hot-blooded teammate. So where was Nukui? If she remembered correctly, he had been flung into that wall over there.

Stepping over debris carefully she headed to where she had last seen her teammate. It took her a while but she eventually found him under some fallen boards. There was blood on him.

"Nukui," she said, but he didn't answer. For a moment she feared he was dead and her heart nearly stopped. Then she noticed his chest rising and falling. So at least he was still breathing. But just how serious his condition was? She was no medic and the first aid classes from her Academy days were mostly forgotten now.

She touched Nukui's head carefully. Her fingers found a bump quickly. Nukui groaned. His eyelids fluttered and then opened.

"You're alright!" she exclaimed.

"Ai?" Nukui asked a bit confused. "What's going on?"

"You don't remember?" the kunoichi inquired. Her dark-skinned teammate looked thoughtful for a while. Then his face twisted in a snarl as he remembered.

"Those bastards! I'm going to..." he tried to sit up too fast and sunk back to the ground with a pained moan.

"Be careful, you're wounded," Ai scolded him.

"How bad is it?" Nukui wanted to know.

"Uh... I don't know," the girl admitted.

"Where are those..." he couldn't come up with a swearword bad enough. His teammate understood him anyway.

"They're gone," she answered. "I hope," she added after a short pause.

"I can't just lie here." He tried to sit up again. He succeeded only after Ai helped him. Then he finally got a clear view of the disaster zone. His face hardened as he observed the smoking buildings, mutilated corpses and people looking for their loved ones. And people who had already found them and now were sobbing over their remains. On the other end of the street Yuu was helping two civilian men get a presumably still living body from under the rubble, but considering how big the heap was the person underneath probably wouldn't survive long. Nukui's fists curled so tight they bled.

"I'm going to kill him." He didn't have to clarify who he meant. "I'm going to kill him dead for what he did." Ai just nodded. She felt the same. Even though she knew that they stood no chance she was willing to do everything in her power to make the monster responsible for all this suffering pay. No matter how long it took. And she knew that everybody in Kumo was silently swearing the same.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Myoubokuzan~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jiraiya sighed in relief when his feet landed on the familiar ground of Mount Myoubokuzan. Legendary ninja he might be, but attacking a whole hidden village with just two people was pushing it even for him. Good thing that the Toads were willing to get them out. He had managed to destroy two of the assigned targets before Kumo shinobi formed an organized defense. Then staying became too dangerous. But now they were out of there and safe once again. Mission successful. Now they just had to wait to see if the Raikage learned his lesson and would recall more troops to strengthen Kumo's garrison. Oh, and pray he wouldn't figure out who did it.

"I can't!" a panicked voice cut into his thoughts. He whirled around. Just what was going on?

"But he's bleeding out!" another, equally panicked voice shouted. 'Who is?' Jiraiya wondered. He suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.

"I know!" the first voice exclaimed with a hint of despair. Both the voices sounded familiar to Jiraiya. Now with cold dread welling in the pit of his stomach he raced towards their source. He reached it within seconds and there he saw exactly what he had feared: Naruto lay on the ground unmoving, a pool of blood spreading around him. There was a residue of Kyuubi's chakra in the air, but it was quickly disappearing. The child looked so small and broken that Jiraiya's heart almost stopped.

"Look what you did!" Shima, one of the toads fretting over Naruto, accused Jiraiya. He barely heard it.

"Tsunade," he said. "He needs to get to Tsunade." Tsunade was a great medic. She would be able to save Naruto, right?

"Yes, let's get him to Konoha." Fukasaku was the first of the Toads to calm down and think rationally. There was a flurry of activity and then Naruto's body disappeared, taken away by the summons. Jiraiya just stood there numbly. He got a glimpse of how serious the wound was and he doubted that even Tsunade would be able to save him. But Naruto had to be alright. He just had to. The alternative was unthinkable. He remembered that not so long ago he had repeated the same mantra. Back then he had thought that if he gave Naruto the Toad contract, he'd be safe. The Toads would save him if something happened. And yet now, after he did so, Naruto was in even more danger and just because of the contract. Without it Naruto wouldn't have been chosen for the mission. In fact, there would probably be no such mission at all. And Konoha would be in trouble because Kumo's forces were pushing into Fire Country... They did what they had to, but was it worth it?

His thought process was interrupted by a hit on his head. He looked around, rubbing the now sore spot on his cranium. "Ow," he complained to Fukasaku, who now stood on his shoulder, his dreaded stick in his hand.

"Don't try to look innocent," the Sage Toad scolded him, looking sterner than Jiraiya had ever seen him. And Fukasaku had looked plenty stern during his Sage training. Jiraiya said nothing. He knew from experience that it would bring him only more pain. "This is all your fault." Jiraiya's eyes found Shima, who was often on his side when Fukasaku was too harsh with him, but this time her eyes were just as hard as her husband's.

"I didn't..." Jiraiya started but Fukasaku silenced him with a hit on the head. A hard hit. The Sannin hissed in pain.

"You did," the Sage Toad stated. "You put Naruto in danger."

"How could you do that to poor little Naru-chan?" Shima accused.

"It was an order," Jiraiya answered.

"And since when do you care about them?" Fukasaku questioned.

"It was for the good of Konoha." After seeing the extent of Naruto's wounds it sounded lame even to him.

"And just why should we care?" Shima spat. "You put Naru-chan in danger and you abused our contract to do so." She could always make Jiraiya feel like a little boy caught doing something bad. Something really, really bad. Now she turned up the ability to the max.

"We're ninja of Konoha," Jiraiya pointed out.

"No," Fukasaku shook his head, "you are. We don't have any contract with the village. We're only loyal to our summoners and our only bond with Konoha is through them."

"I..." Jiraiya realized he didn't know what to say.

Then with a loud thud Gamabunta landed next to them. "What was it I've heard?" the Toad Boss demanded. "Minato's little tadpole was hurt?" Three grim stares were his reply. "Jiraiya, what happened? Why didn't you look after him?"

"He endangered him!" Shima spoke first. "And Naru-chan is badly hurt now. Pray he survives."

"That bad?" Gamabunta questioned. "I've never met the tadpole, but Gamakichi likes him. And he is Minato's little one. And now some hare-brained scheme of yours got him hurt?" Having the full attention of a pissed off great battle toad focused on him was a very uncomfortable feeling for Jiraiya. It was all he could do not to run away. "I never liked you much but this is a new low even for you."

"Sorry," Jiraiya said lamely. The assembled Toads were utterly unimpressed.

"Don't even think of doing something like that again," Gamabunta continued. "I won't allow Minato's tadpole to be treated like a weapon again. He deserves better. Minato deserves better. He was a much better man than you. Jiraiya, the Toads won't allow such treatment of our summoners. We won't cooperate in something like this again. So don't ever come up with a scheme that requires getting Naruto out of danger through reverse summons. It isn't something that should be used easily. If you do, there will be... repercussions." The tone of the last word left the white-haired man in no doubt just how serious the consequences would be.

"Remember this, Jiraiya," Fukasaku spoke. "A summoning contract requires trust on both sides. What you just did..." the Sage Toad shook his head. "We can't forget all the good times, but if you go on like this, the bad times might outweigh them. If that happens..." Fukasaku didn't finish. He didn't have to. Jiraiya understood what he was threatening and why it was too terrible to say aloud. Breach of contract was a deadly serious business for summoned creatures and canceling a contract was hardly ever done.

"It won't happen again," he said with conviction. "I swear. I'll make sure of it." It occurred to him that he was promising something he had no means to fulfill. The three toads watched him unblinkingly.

"It better not," Gamabunta was the first one to speak. "Now get lost and don't bother me again. And pray Naruto survives this."

* * *

And that's it for today.

Next time: Naruto's hospital time


	60. Monsters

**Author's note: **Another chapter here. I hope it's to your liking, I experimented a bit on this one. It should answer the questions from the last chapter. Now read and hopefully enjoy it.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Naruto~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_The woman opened her mouth and screamed as the Wind blade nearly cut her in half. Blood flowed from her wound, dying the white flowers on her dress red._

"_Momma!" the child of perhaps four years standing next to her cried. "Momma! Momma!" Tears appeared in her eyes. Then they were dried by a blast of wind that slammed into them and blew them away. The child crumpled down next to her mother, both looking like discarded rag dolls._

"_**You did this."**_

_The boy looked like he had earned his headband last week. But when the attack came, he pulled out two kunai from his pouch and despite the fear clearly written all over his face he stood his ground, determined to protect his home until his last breath. His wish was granted five seconds later when his attempt to block couldn't stop the arms enveloped in whirling Wind chakra. He collapsed to the ground to die slowly and in pain, his wounds too serious to be healed by even the best of medics._

"_**You did this."**_

_The old woman wanted to get out of the way but her walking stick broke. She collapsed to her hands and knees. She was struggling to make her arthritic joints move and take her into safety when the fire jutsu fanned by a wind jutsu filled the whole street. Her clothes and hair immediately caught fire, leaving her on the ground, unable to even scream, until she died._

"_**You did this."**_

"No..."

_The ninja was severely wounded. He was probably a chuunin, maybe even jounin in rank, but now he was rendered defenseless and harmless by the wounds littering his body. Yet the boy walked over to him and slit his throat with a stolen kunai._

"_**You did this."**_

"No..." It sounded like a plea.

_The old man obviously used to be a ninja when he had been younger. It was apparent from the way he stood in front of his grandchildren (or great-grandchildren) and tried to force his swollen, uncooperating fingers to form handseals. He never got the chance to finish them. The blast of slicing wind nearly cut him into ribbons, along with his grandchildren._

"_**You did this."**_

"No..." It sounded desperate.

_The pair of teenagers was too busy smooching to notice what was going around them. They had only enough time to pull out of their kiss and look around in surprise when the Wind chakra-charged kunai pierced both of their chests in one hit._

"_**You did this."**_

"No. No, please." The voice was now crying.

_The puppy tried to protect its master and attacked valiantly. It was kicked into the nearest wall so hard it slumped down._

"_Shiro!" the boy still holding the empty leash cried in shock. It was all he had the time to do before he too was hit so hard his bones broke._

"_**You did all of this."**_This voice was firm.

"No!" All the desperation and denial was concentrated in this one sound.

_The woman collapsed when hit with the Wind blade, her shopping bags spilling their contents all around her._

"_**This is all your work. You cannot deny it, no matter how hard you try."**_

"No! I didn't... I wouldn't..."

_The house collapsed after being hit by the shockwave, burying its inhabitants in its ruins._

"_**You would and you did."**_The voice was relishing in the words.

"No..." the other voice broke in a sob.

_A baby was crying desperately for a mother who would never come home, her life cut short by a kunai in her heart._

"_**You know that you can't lie to yourself. This is all your work. Every single one of them and then some more."**_

There was no answer from the other voice.

_A house was burning, its inhabitants trying desperately to salvage what they could before the roof would inevitably collapse. Two were still inside when it gave out._

"_**You see? You are a monster."**_The voice was grinning.

_The child was picking her doll from the ground, oblivious to the fireball heading for her back._

The first voice said nothing. Only two glowing red eyes observed the small figure in front of them.

_The man screamed when the attack tore through his ineffective defenses._

The child looked into the giant eyes.

"I am a monster."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha hospital~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tsunade checked the patient's vitals. Finally he didn't look like he could die any moment, which was a huge improvement from the state he was carried to the hospital in. But he was still very far from being alright. She had seen people die from lesser wounds than he currently sported. She wondered what could have put the child into his current state. He was strong, fast and he regenerated fast. Even when he ran into a jounin, he could usually hold his own ground until help arrived. So what kind of monster had he faced on his latest mission? She didn't get any report. She usually didn't get much information on what had happened to the patients shipped into her hospital, she was only supposed to treat them. And usually it was alright. Only in rare cases the injury wasn't self-evident and she needed more information to figure out what was wrong. Naruto wasn't the case. The wound in his side was obvious. But she still wanted to know who had hurt her precious little boy, so she could find them and beat them within an inch of their life, then heal them and beat them up again. She wanted to repeat the whole process for days. But she couldn't do it. Naruto needed her more. Even with his injuries healing quickly, he still wasn't out of danger. Tsunade sighed. Being a medical ninja was tough. Sitting back and treating the wounded when she wanted to fight always took almost all of her self-control. But she knew why she had to stay behind. Without her many would have died, including Naruto. And so she stayed by his bedside, checked on his recovery and made idle plans of revenge on whoever had nearly killed him, knowing that she would never enact them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's mind~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The demon grinned as he stared through the bars at the young child kneeling on the other side.

"_**You see? You are just like me." **_Naruto didn't answer.

_The kunai flew through the air, the civilian man could only stare in shock and fear as it neared him, being unable to move a muscle in his terror. It hit him in the neck._

"_**You killed so many."**_

_The woman lay on the ground, screaming, as she struggled in vain to stop the blood flowing from her thigh in a thick stream._

Naruto just sat there, shivering as the memories from his Shadow Clones played in his mind.

"_**You're so good at carnage."**_

_A mother was desperately trying to wake her child, lying too still on the cold stones of the street._

Naruto grabbed his head, trying to stop the stream of memories.

_A ninja was trying to stuff his guts back into his stomach._

The memories refused to stop.

_A dozen dead bodies littering the street, burned and smoldering after being hit by the Firestorm._

"_**We are both monsters," **_Kyuubi smiled.

"Stop it," Naruto pleaded.

"_**I'm not doing anything."**_

_The scream was full of inhumane suffering. He ignored it and dashed forward, ready to deliver harm to the next person in line._

"_**You enjoyed it, admit it."**_

"No," Naruto shook his head desperately.

"_**Don't lie to yourself. You're quite good at dealing damage. Even I was impressed. We can enjoy so much bloody carnage together."**_

"No!" Naruto screamed desperately.

"_**Come on!" **_the kitsune prodded. _**"You've already admitted that you're a monster. So what's stopping you?"**_

Naruto didn't answer. He just curled into a ball and cried.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha hospital~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tsunade checked Naruto's condition again. His wounds were all but gone now. His chakra was still low, but not dangerously so. It was almost close to normal. He could wake up any minute now. In fact, he could have woken up yesterday. But he didn't. There was no medical reason for it, as far as Tsunade could tell. And if even she couldn't find it, then it wasn't there. Because Tsunade was a great medic, even if she said so herself.

But if there wasn't a medical reason, then what was preventing Naruto from waking? Before she could investigate the issue deeply, the door to the hospital room opened. She scowled at being disturbed.

"There's a 'Do not disturb' sign on the door," she barked. "Can't you read?"

"I can read quite well," a familiar voice replied with a hint of amusement. Tsunade gasped when she realized who did she just snap at. She whirled around.

"Sensei!"

"At ease, Tsunade," Sarutobi smiled. "So how is he?" His tone turned more serious as he looked at the patient.

"Physically, he's fine," the Slug Sannin replied.

"But?" the Hokage prompted. Tsunade sighed.

"He isn't waking up and I'm not sure why."

"And his wounds have healed," the Sandaime mused aloud.

"I've already said so," the busty woman said a bit offended. She couldn't stand it when somebody doubted her medical abilities, even when that somebody was her sensei and Hokage.

"Hmmmm... if the problem isn't his body then it must be his mind," Sarutobi theorized.

"It occurred to me too," the legendary medic said, "but why now? He was wounded severely before, wasn't he?"

"He was," Hiruzen confirmed, "but I don't think the shock is due to his injury."

"Then what?" the blonde questioned. "Wasn't it just a routine battle?"

"Is any battle ever routine?" the Third Hokage asked philosophically. "And no, this one was different. Weren't you informed?"

"I might have missed the memo," Tsunade replied. "The hospital is so busy I rarely have time to sleep, much less read every slip of paper. Care to explain?"

"This was the first time he attacked in a village."

"You sent him to attack a civilian target?" the Sannin was outraged. "He's ten! What were you thinking, sensei!" The Hokage took an involuntary step back. His old student was scary when she was angry. Right now she was showing how she could scare battalions of enemy shinobi into retreating just by showing up. The Sandaime felt like doing the same. Then he remembered that he was the boss around here and stood his ground valiantly.

"It wasn't exactly a civilian target. It was Kumo."

"Kumo?!" The Slug Sannin could hardly believe her ears. And the Hokage had to concentrate not to take a step back. He couldn't be terrified of his own genin student. "What were you thinking, old man? It's a miracle he's still alive."

"He was the only one who could pull it off," Sarutobi explained. "And Jiraiya was with him."

"Is that supposed to calm me down?" Tsunade growled. "By the way, when was your last medical checkup? I don't recall seeing you in here in quite the time." The Hokage paled. Checkups by an angry Tsunade could reduce even the strongest of men to sobbing wrecks. He decided to change the topic quickly, though he didn't really hope that the Slug Princess would forget about the checkup.

"I think Naruto-kun needs a mind specialist if he indeed is in shock."

"I agree," Tsunade nodded. "I suggest the best from the Yamanaka clan. That's still Inoichi, isn't it?"

"He is," the Sandaime confirmed.

"Good," the healer nodded. "He should be contacted immediately."

"I'll see to it," Sarutobi said, trying to back off from the room while his old student was distracted.

"Oh, and sensei," Tsunade called after him, "your checkup is tomorrow at three AM. Don't you dare to miss it." The Hokage blanched. He should have known that he couldn't get off the hook so easily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Raikage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How did they get in?" A asked, interrupting the jounin giving report on the damage to the village. The Raikage didn't need to hear it to know that it was bad. Sure, it could have been worse, but any damage larger than none was too bad, because it was damage that had happened to the Village Hidden in the Clouds itself.

"We still don't know," Mabui, his assistant, answered. "We're still going through the gate logs."

"Do we at least know who they were?"

"We don't have a positive identification on them, but one witness reported seeing a frog with one of them. Unfortunately we have been unable to confirm it and the witness was drunk at the time."

"Frogs?" A frowned. "Who has Frog summons? Now if it was Toads, but Frogs?"

"Well," Mabui shrugged, "it could have been Toads. The witness weren't entirely sure on the difference. And as I said, he was drunk, so he might have been seeing things."

"So it was Konoha!" the Raikage thundered. "I'm going to crush them! Raze them to the ground!"

"You already tried that," a new voice interrupted. The Raikage looked up to see the head of the Yotsuki clan standing in the doorway. He grimaced. Yotsuki En was the last person he wanted to see right now.

"Get lost," he barked.

"I'm not going to leave," the Yotsuki clan head stated, "and neither are our problems. Especially not if you continue acting so rashly. Last time it cost us my son and three other elite shinobi. This time it cost us this," he pointed out of the window, where the damage dealt to the village was clearly visible. Especially the crater at the spot of the former armory was jarring. "What's it going to cost us the next time? Do you really want to weaken the defenses of Kumo even more so we're open wide for another attack?"

"So you would stop our offensive now we're advancing?" A questioned. "That's cowardly, En."

"No, that's the sane thing to do," En disagreed. "Our offensive isn't going quite as well as you planned. Even with Bee on the frontlines, our forces are still too far from Konoha and the Leafs are holding their ground valiantly. They won't crumble if we press a little harder. We'd just lose countless ninja there. So be a responsible leader for once and strengthen our defenses!"

"Are you saying I'm not a responsible leader?" the Raikage asked dangerously. En started sweating under his Killing Intent. But he refused to back off. This confrontation was too important for it. He had to see it through no matter what.

"I'm not the only one who thinks so, as you know well. Should I call the Council and let all of them speak?"

The Raikage cursed inwardly. He knew he couldn't prevent a Council gathering, not after this disaster. And then all the scaredy-cats would make him call off the offensive. And just when they were finally getting somewhere. It was bad. And there was nothing he could do about it. If only he had managed to kill at least one of the attackers... but no. He had noticed he had hit the real body among the flood of clones too late. And before he could remedy his mistake and finish off the brat, he had disappeared in front of his eyes. Reverse summon. Bothersome thing. The brat was wounded severely, but A doubted that it was enough to finish him off. He'd be back. A resolved to kill him the next time he met him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's mindscape~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The small boy lay huddled in front of the demon's cage. The kitsune stood close to the bars, almost leaning over the child.

"_**You admitted it yourself," **_the beast spoke. _** "You are a monster. So why not embrace your nature? It's fun, you'll see."**_

Naruto gave him no response, just lay there motionlessly and cried quietly as more memories paraded through his mind.

_The man was looking the other way, focused at whatever had caught his attention. His unprotected back presented a perfect target. Naruto wasted no time plunging a kunai into it. A red flower blossomed around the wound as the man fell._

"_**See how pretty the blood is? Can you taste its delicious smell? Don't you want to lick it?" **_Kyuubi prodded. _**"You can have it. As much as you want and then some more."**_ Naruto just whimpered slightly.

_The young girl was dressed up for a date. But instead of her beloved she was met by an invading army. She shrieked as they rushed at her. She continued screaming as they trampled her under their feet._

"_**Wasn't her shrieking the most beautiful music? Don't you want to hear more of it? A whole symphony of terror and suffering?" **_the Nine-Tails tempted. Naruto shook his head. It looked more as if he just trembled. _**"Why are you so stubborn? Why not give in to your urges? Why hold back?"**_ Naruto remained silent. _**"Are you perhaps concerned about the people? Why should you? They never cared for you one bit. Don't tell me you don't mind their glares." **_

Naruto remembered the glares. They hurt.

"_**Don't tell me you've already forgotten how they tried to kill you."**_

_The drunkard wanted to throw him off the Hokage Monument, 'to teach him to fly.' He had been so scared. His son then threw a kunai into his unprotected back. It hurt._

"_**Don't tell me it didn't hurt when they blamed you for the war." **_

_The crowd in front of the Hokage Tower started throwing stones. They didn't hurt quite as much as the looks they were shooting him. The words they were shouting. Their demands for his death. _Naruto curled more tightly.

"_**And after all they did to you, they still demand you fight for them."**_

_All the missions he had been ever assigned. All the blood he had ever spilled._

"_**They only care about your strength."**_

_The attack on Kumo. _Naruto shut his eyes tight, but he couldn't keep the memories away.

"_**No,"**_ Kyuubi grinned, _**"they only care about my strength. You mean nothing to them."**_

_The siege of the Iwa base in River Country. The demand to use the demon's power. The situation he ended up in. He could have easily died there and nobody would have cared as long as he fulfilled his duty._

"_**Don't you want to punish them for that? Don't you want to give them a real reason to fear and loathe you? Don't you want to show them what you can really do? What we can really do? Just release my power and the revenge shall be ours. It's going to taste so sweet."**_

Naruto just trembled. He couldn't deny what the Kyuubi said. He wanted revenge on everybody for doing nasty things to him. He wanted revenge on them for making him do nasty things. He wanted revenge for turning him into a monster. But, he thought as he looked at the nine-tailed kitsune, was he a monster this bad? Did he want to be a monster this bad?

"_**You know you want to do this," **_the demon prompted._** "What are you still waiting for?" **_Naruto didn't answer. _**"It's so easy. Just tear off the seal and they won't hurt you anymore. They won't glare anymore. They won't order you around anymore. Wouldn't that be great?"**_

"Naruto?" A new voice spoke. The boy paid it no attention. It was probably just another memory, though he couldn't place the speaker. The Kyuubi no Kitsune did react. He snarled.

"_**Who are you? What are you doing here?" **_The demon didn't recognize this long-haired blond man. The newcomer gave him a wary look, but no answer. He walked over to Naruto, the water covering the ground splashing around his feet. He knelt over the shivering boy.

"Naruto," he said again, touching his shoulder gently. The child jerked away. "What did you do to him?" the man turned to the Kyuubi. There was a fearful tremble in his demanding voice.

"_**Me?" **_Kyuubi somehow managed to look like wounded innocence personified. _**"How typical of you. Blame everything on the Bijuu."**_

"What did you do?" Inoichi demanded again. It would have sounded better if he could keep the fear out of his voice. As a seasoned jounin and former head of the Torture and Interrogation Squad he should be able to do it in his sleep. But faced with the angry beast it was an impossible task.

"_**Nothing,"**_ the fox shrugged. _**"You did this."**_

"Me?" Inoichi raised an eyebrow.

"_**You humans," **_the demon elaborated.

"What do you mean?"

"_**You should know well."**_ The kitsune was obviously in the mood for riddles. Inoichi wasn't, so he ignored him and focused on Naruto. The boy still didn't make a sound other than quiet whimpering. He also didn't move from his fetal position.

"Naruto?" the Yamanaka asked, touching his shoulder again. And once again the child jerked away as if burned. He didn't want anybody to touch him. He didn't want anybody to be here. (He didn't even wonder how did somebody get here.) He didn't want to be around people. He didn't know what he might do to them. He was a monster. He would hurt them if they stayed around too long. He wished this man would just go away. But the intruder showed no such intention. He addressed Naruto again.

"Naruto? It's time to go home." The boy shook his head. He didn't want to go anywhere. He couldn't hurt anyone while he was here, well, once this man will finally give up and leave.

"_**He won't go with you," **_Kyuubi spoke. The water on the ground started splashing slightly, even though there was no wind.

"Nobody asked you," Inoichi retorted. Then he turned back to Naruto, glancing at the rising waves worriedly. "Do you really want to stay here with him? He seems like terrible company." The fox growled. The waves become faster. Naruto hung his head, but he didn't speak a word.

"You don't like listening to him, do you?" Inoichi questioned. "Then why don't you come with me? You won't hear him anymore." Kyuubi growled again. A thin trickle of red seeped into the water outside the cage.

"I can't." It was so quiet that Inoichi wasn't sure if he wasn't imagining it. It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but it was the first thing Naruto spoke. It was a beginning.

"Why not?" Inoichi inquired.

"I am a monster. I can't live among people. I'd just hurt them." The boy was staring at the ground as he spoke.

"You aren't a monster," Inoichi disagreed. "He is," he pointed at Kyuubi. "You are not."

"_**How typical," **_the kitsune snorted.

"I am," Naruto insisted. "I hurt people. Killed people. Go away or I'll hurt you too." The boy was a sorry sight to behold. He didn't look capable to harm a fly. Still curled into a ball and trembling, he refused to look straight at Inoichi.

"He was feeding you his bloodlust," Inoichi reasoned. "It wasn't really you."

"_**So it's 'Blame the Bijuu' again," **_the fox scoffed. _**"Honestly, can't you come up with something original? This is getting old."**_

"It was all me," Naruto said. "I wasn't using his power at all."

"They were enemies," Inoichi pointed out.

"They were just people," Naruto countered. "Civilians. Not warriors. And I killed them. Old people, men, women, children. All dead. I slaughtered them all. I am a monster."

Inoichi sighed. This wasn't going as he wanted it to. Not by a long shot. But what could he expect in the mind of a traumatized ten-year-old killer who happens to have the most powerful demon living inside him? He should be glad he didn't end up dead yet. And considering how much red had seeped into the water around them while he wasn't looking, it might yet happen. He had to finish his task and return soon. Though he knew that such matters couldn't be rushed, he'd have to take the chance.

"Please, Naruto, come back. We need you," he spoke in his most persuasive voice.

"_**You see?" **_Kyuubi smirked victoriously. _**"They want you to fight for them again."**_

"Your friends miss you. Tsunade-sama is beside herself with worry." Now Naruto looked at him finally. It was another step towards success. Hopefully.

"I can't," the boy shook his head. "I'd just hurt them."

"So you want to lie here and listen to his drivel until you give in?" Inoichi questioned. Naruto jerked. Inoichi spotted his chance. "He can be quite persuasive. If you stay here, he'll make you hurt somebody again." The water around his feet flapped around wildly. So he hit a sensitive spot with the kitsune.

"_**Baseless accusations, you mortal worm,"**_ Kyuubi growled. Inoichi paid him no attention.

"Once you can't hear him anymore, things won't look so bleak any longer. Everything seems much brighter when bathed in the sunlight. So please leave this darkness and come with me and everything will be alright again." He offered Naruto a hand. The boy didn't seem convinced and eyed his outstretched hand warily.

"_**Don't go with him!" **_the demon snarled angrily. Naruto's eyes shot to the cage. The demon suddenly looked so very scary. Naruto feared him and wanted to get as far away from him as possible. All other concerns were forgotten for the moment. He took Inoichi's hand and clung to it. The Yamanaka smiled. The fox howled angrily.

"_**NO!"**_ He attacked the bars futilely. Inoichi was already carrying Naruto away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha Hospital~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The wait was endless, every minute of it torturous. Tsunade tried to make it feel shorter by pacing around the room and taking the patient's vitals every minute, but it wasn't helping. Neither Naruto nor Inoichi had stirred for... how long was it anyway? Not yet half an hour? That couldn't be right. That clock must be broken. She'd have to send somebody to get a new one. She paced some more and checked the vitals several more times. She glanced at the wall clock again, despite knowing that it was broken. It claimed that merely three minutes had passed. It really was going too slow.

When she was about to check the vitals again, she noticed some movement. Naruto's eyelids twitched. She leaned close, unsure whether she wasn't imagining things. She wasn't. Naruto's eyes twitched again. He was stirring. Soon he opened his eyes. His wide blues stared into her concerned browns for a few seconds. Then they closed again and Naruto curled up on the bed.

"Naruto?" she called him gently. He gave no response, but she knew that he was awake. "Naruto," she called him again. Still nothing. "What's wrong?"

"He's still in shock," Inoichi said. "He doesn't want to talk to anybody. He doesn't want to be around people. He thinks he is a monster because of what happened in Kumo."

Tsunade leaned over the curled-up boy and caressed his head gently. "Naruto? Can you hear me? You are not a monster." The boy just trembled. The woman realized that he was sobbing quietly.

"What is it about?" she asked quietly. Inoichi briefly hesitated whether he should answer in front of the patient. Then he decided that it wasn't going to make the situation any worse.

"He thinks he's a monster because he killed people on his last mission."

"But he's been in many battles, so why now?" Tsunade scrunched her brow. She didn't know much about the mission Naruto had been wounded on, just that it was a high-ranked one and took place in Kumo.

"They weren't shinobi," Inoichi explained.

"What?" Tsunade blinked. "Sensei sent a kid on an assassination mission?" She mentally amended the list of procedures she was going to perform during the Hokage's scheduled physical.

"I think it was worse than that," the Yamanaka clan head replied.

"Worse? Just what can be worse?" Now the Sannin was leaking Killing Intent.

"I'm not sure," Inoichi answered, inching away from her. But Tsunade didn't pay him attention anymore. She walked over to Naruto's bed and ruffled his hair.

"You aren't a monster, Naruto. Never believe that," she tried to reassure him, but the Killing Intent ruined the effect. "Now rest well, I'm going to have a few words with sensei about this." Then she strode out of the room purposefully. Inoichi felt a stab of pity for the Hokage. When the Slug Princess was in this mood, nobody was safe from her.

That left him alone with Naruto. He knew he should do something for the boy, but he wasn't sure what. He didn't know enough about the problem and taking a guess always carried the risk of getting it wrong. And considering how fragile Naruto's mental state currently was, a single ill-chosen word might break him completely. As Konoha's foremost expert on human psychology Inoichi knew it well. And silence could be just as devastating. He truly wished he didn't have to be in this situation, but he was glad that when it happened, he was there. Anybody else might make an even bigger mess of things.

He laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder reassuringly. The boy jerked away.

"I won't hurt you," Inoichi said, keeping his voice low and warm. His only response was a sob from Naruto. "And don't worry about hurting me," he added. Now the boy stiffened. "I can take care of myself. I'm a jounin after all." Naruto didn't reply to this one. Inoichi pondered what else could he say. "Whatever you're going through, you aren't in it alone," was what he settled on in the end. Naruto still didn't answer. When Inoichi looked closely, he realized that the boy had drifted asleep. Perhaps that was for the best, even if his sleep was going to be plagued by nightmares. The Yamanaka considered whether he should watch over him and wake him as soon as the bad dreams would hit, but he couldn't afford to stay for so long. He had a lot of important things to do, just as every high-ranked ninja in Konoha. And so with a sigh he left the room and closed the door behind him silently. Naruto slept on.

* * *

And that's it for today.

Next time: Will Naruto get over his mental breakdown?


	61. Broken

**Author's note:** Another chapter here. It's longer than usual, but I wanted to wrap up this arc here. I don't want to scare off my readers with three full chapters of Naruto's mental breakdown. If you can read through this, you'll get to the new adventure in the next arc. Coming next week.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Not even an actiion figure of him.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_The youngster that had just walked from behind the corner, hands in his pockets and whistling a merry tune, had just enough time to look surprised before the Fuuton jutsu hit him. He was blown to the opposite side of the street where he slumped down, bloody and unmoving._

_No._

_The shinobi team was putting up a good defense against the bunch of clones attacking from the other direction. They didn't notice him sneaking up on their backs and cutting them down. They never stood a chance._

_No!_

_The man was a butcher, still dressed in a bloody apron with a huge meat cleaver in his hand. When the attack started, he stood firm, prepared to defend his home against all invaders. But he was just a civilian and too slow to fight a trained ninja. He was down in ten seconds, his dead hand still clutching his weapon._

_NO!_

_The old lady scowled with the righteous indignation only old people manage when they're scolding the younger generations for their shortcomings. She lifted her cane, gripping it tightly in her arthritic hand, intending to bash his skull with it, but she was just an old woman and he was a ninja. She..._

The scene shook. The old lady still stood her ground, her cane poised to strike. _Get away, _he wanted to shout at her, but he couldn't. He knew what was going to come next and he dreaded it. Then the scene shook again, harder.

He woke up. Everything around him was white. It took him a while to realize that it was hospital sheets. He was back in Konoha. That felt somehow odd. He felt that he should still be in Kumo, doing... he didn't want to think about it, but his mind brought up another picture. _Abandoned toys lying in the street..._

The hand on his shoulder shook him again.

"Are you awake now?" It didn't sound much like a question. It took him a while to place the voice. Tsunade. Naruto closed his eyes. He didn't want to talk to her. He didn't want to talk to anybody. He just wanted to... what? He realized he didn't know. He just didn't want to go through any more memories. All the images that had barely registered because his Kage Bunshin got dispelled so fast were now parading in front of his mind eye in technicolor. And squeezing his eyes shut before them did nothing to chase them away. They just became more vivid. He wanted to forget, but his memory refused to back down until it presented him with every gruesome detail of everything he did in Kumo. He couldn't deal with that. He couldn't. Yet he could see no escape. He cried.

"Naruto!" Tsunade shook him harder. He curled in a fetal position. He really didn't want to deal with her. But she wasn't discouraged so easily. She turned him over so he now faced her. "Look at me," she ordered. He looked down instead. She grabbed his chin and forced his face up. He glared at her through his tears. He couldn't muster the energy to do anything else. He wondered idly just how pathetic he looked, but abandoned the train of thought quickly. Holding to it was too much effort.

"Naruto," Tsunade spoke again, this time in a softer voice. "Tell me what happened."

"I killed them," the boy answered. He didn't really want to, but the words still flowed from his lips.

"Killed who?" she inquired. She needed to get Naruto talking or she would never reach the core of the problem.

"Everybody. Everybody in my way," he admitted. Maybe now Tsunade would see what kind of dangerous monster he was and leave. The Slug Sannin did no such thing. Instead her mouth tightened into a grim line. She hated seeing the usually so bright boy so down, even broken. She had already explained to sensei in great detail what she thought about sending Naruto on such a mission during the medical checkup. The Hokage had been trembling, trying to escape her grasp before she was done with him. The look on his face when she had confiscated all his tobacco supply to check it for mind-altering substances had been something she was going to savor for a long time to come. Yet now, faced with the result of the Third's orders, she felt it wasn't enough. She wanted to plan another, more thorough checkup and this time include some experimental procedures. And forbid his smoking. But that was for later. Now she had Naruto to take care of.

"You must have heard it before, but ninja kill," Tsunade stated. It wasn't a good thing to say as far as comforting a distraught child went. Naruto didn't reply, only shuddered a bit. "And you were in many battles before. So what was different this time?" She had already heard something, but not quite enough to understand the situation fully. And she wanted to hear Naruto's version. She needed it to help him.

"It wasn't a battle," Naruto replied.

"No?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "You look like you've been in one tough battle. So what it was if not a battle?"

"A massacre," he answered, his eyes downcast. "Slaughter. They couldn't fight and I killed them all." He started trembling again, hugging himself under the blanket.

"They were civilians?" Tsunade inquired.

"Civilians, genin, old men," Naruto listed. "Whoever didn't run. I... I wasn't supposed to do that, but I did it. Once the fighting began, everybody was an enemy. Even if they were a little child. I was supposed to just fight the ninja, but I... lost control. I really am a monster." He broke down sobbing.

"Naruto," Tsunade spoke, caressing his head gently. "That was the Kyuubi's doing."

"No," he shook his head. "It was all my own. I didn't use its power until the end. The bloodlust was all mine."

"That sometimes happens in battles," the Slug Sannin spoke. She knew that well from personal experience. There were a few times during the Second Shinobi War she really wasn't proud of. Naruto said nothing to that. "It doesn't make you a monster."

"Doesn't it?" he retorted. "I thought that was what monsters are."

"If so, then all shinobi are monsters," Tsunade countered.

"We are." That wasn't the answer the Slug Sannin was hoping for.

"I'm a shinobi too. Do you think I'm a monster?" Naruto didn't answer. Tsunade was nice. She was taking care of him. But he had heard enough about her past on the battlefield and the kills she made. So maybe she was a monster after all, but he didn't dare to say it to her face. He wasn't suicidal, though just barely. Tsunade took his silence as a good sign, so she continued. "Every person is capable of both good and evil. You aren't a monster as long as you have compassion. You might sometimes do cruel things, but it doesn't make you evil, if you do them for Konoha."

Naruto closed his eyes. Immediately the images of broken bodies, dead children and blood on the ground appeared in his mind. Tsunade just didn't understand. She had no idea how terrible things he had really done.

"Tell that to the people in Kumo." He refused to talk with her further. All she said was just empty words he had heard many times before. They didn't make it any easier. They couldn't hold in face of the cold, cruel, bloody reality. He just closed his eyes, tuned out the lecture in philosophy and waited for Tsunade to get bored or called away and leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto didn't bother looking when the doors of his hospital room opened. It was probably just a nurse coming to check on him or try to make him eat. He wished she'd go away; he was in no mood to deal with people. He wasn't fit to deal with people. Kyuubi was right, he was the monster here. He remembered how it had been when he had first come to Kumo. He had thought that the people there were the same as in Konoha. He had watched them go about their daily business and thought how bad it was he had to hurt them. And then, when the signal had come, he had done it anyway. He remembered the old lady he had talked to. What had happened to her? He didn't know. She was probably dead and it was his fault. She had been nothing but kind to him and he had repaid her by killing her. He really was the worst kind of scum. Those who were trying to convince him otherwise didn't know what they were talking about.

"Hello!" The voice was young, boisterous and vaguely familiar. So not a nurse. Not that it mattered. They should just go away, whoever they were.

"Arf!" Now that was a puppy barking.

"H-hello." Now it was a girl's voice, speaking quietly.

"Hello." Another boy. All of them sounded familiar, but trying to remember who they were was too much effort. So was turning around to look. Naruto just lay quietly and wished they'd go away. Though he was also a tiny bit interested in why they visited him.

"Hey, talk with us," the first voice demanded, sounding a bit annoyed. "Or are you too good for us?"

"Whoof!" the little dog barked. Now Naruto remembered who it was. Hana's little brother. What was his name again? And the others must be his teammates. How long it had been since he had seen them? Just a month? It felt like ages ago. So much had happened since then.

"W-we heard there was nobody to visit you s-so w-we came." The Hyuuga girl. Was Hinata her name?

"Mom said that with your teammates on a mission you're lonely here," Kiba explained. So his team was on a mission? Good. He didn't want to see them. He didn't want them to see him.

"We decided to visit you. Why? Because I didn't have the opportunity to thank you properly for saving us." The third teammate who had spent most of their time together knocked out. Naruto didn't know much about him. But he still didn't turn around. He didn't deserve their thanks. He was a monster. Who knows what he might do to them if they stayed too long.

"Hinata keeps talking about you," Kiba added. "You're her hero."

"K-kiba-kun!" Hinata blushed.

'Hero?' Naruto thought. He was no hero. He was a monster. He had saved Team 8, that was true, but just because he had killed the people that had captured them. He was no hero and they should understand that before it was too late. He turned around. Hinata yelped and blushed a deeper shade of red.

"I'm not," he said.

"What?" Kiba asked.

"A hero," Naruto elaborated. "I'm not one."

"You saved us." For once Hinata managed to say a whole sentence without stuttering.

"That doesn't make me a hero," the blond boy insisted.

"Hey, Hinata keeps talking about how dashing you looked when you broke through the door," Kiba said. Akamaru barked in agreement. "Even I have to admit it was pretty cool."

"Y-you're so strong." Now Hinata was stuttering and blushing again. She could hardly believe that she actually said it aloud. It was almost like admitting that she liked him.

"That doesn't make me a hero," Naruto repeated. He hoped that they would finally get it. They didn't.

"I wish I was like you," Hinata admitted, staring at the ground and pressing her index fingers together. If she blushed any harder she would probably faint.

"Don't." 'Don't ever become like me,' Naruto thought, but Hinata ignored him. Once she had gathered enough resolve to speak, she didn't dare to stop even to take a breath, or she might never finish what she wanted to say.

"I'm weak, I mess up everything, I'm such a failure..." Here her voice finally gave. She looked as if she might begin crying.

"Don't cry, Hinata," Kiba tried to comfort his teammate. "You're strong. You made that guy drop you, so they couldn't drag us away."

"I never do anything right..." When depression hit, it hit hard. Hinata didn't seem to have heard anything the Inuzuka had said.

"You did well," Naruto spoke. Team Eight's problems weren't his problems, but the sight of a crying girl triggered some primal protective instinct. His voice managed to get through to Hinata. She glanced up at him, but lowered her eyes after a second.

"I can't even do Juuken properly," she mumbled.

"Then what can you do?" Naruto asked.

"What?" Hinata blinked.

"If you're bad at Juuken, what are you good at?" the chuunin repeated his question.

"B-but..." the white-eyed girl opened her mouth several times and closed it again before speaking again. "I'm a Hyuuga."

"So?" Naruto questioned.

"Juuken is our style." Suggesting anything else was blasphemy to the young clan heiress.

"Juuken is powerful, but it's predictable. And predictability gets ninja killed. You have to know something else, otherwise if somebody fought one Hyuuga it's as if he fought them all," Naruto explained.

"But Hyuuga use the Juuken," Hinata repeated, still trying to wrap her mind around Naruto's suggestion. Hyuuga use the Juuken, that's what her father had taught her ever since she had learned to walk and talk. She had never even considered learning anything else.

"He is right," Shino agreed. "Why? Because if you fight an enemy who knows your clan's style and has a counter, you need something else to surprise him." Aburame children were encouraged to learn something beside the use of Kikaichuu. The Destruction bugs were powerful, but if somebody knew how to neutralize them, using, say, poison gas, they needed something else to fall back on. The Aburame couldn't use much jutsu because of their hives constantly feeding on their chakra, but most of them had some weapons up their sleeves in case somebody got close enough for a hand-to-hand fight.

"Me and Akamaru are unbeatable, but I still want to learn how to spit fire like sister," Kiba added.

Hinata could see the logic in their words, but still hesitated. As the daughter of the Main House, it was her duty to prove the superiority of the Hyuuga clan by defeating all enemies using only Juuken. If her father found out she was learning something else, he would disinherit her and put her into the Branch House, and that was if she was lucky. But, a traitorous voice in her head added, you can't prove the superiority of the Hyuuga clan if you're dead. And you really want to be strong.

"Really," Naruto spoke, "I don't get why the Hyuuga clan insist on using only Juuken. I mean it's powerful, but the Byakugan has so many more uses. It must make learning jutsu much easier if you can see the chakra flow. And if you can see enemies before they can see you, you can hit them from afar. There are so many uses. So why only Juuken? It's making you weak."

"We are not weak!" Hinata defended her clan out of habit, despite agreeing with Naruto's words. It was as if a new world suddenly appeared in front of her. There were so many ninja arts. Which one could she be good at? She had been quite decent with the Academy basics, so she had hope in that regard. But what if it turned out she really was a failure and couldn't learn anything else?

"You can be stronger," Shino spoke. "Why? Because a good ninja needs many options to deal with different kinds of enemies." That brought Naruto down to earth. Talking with Team 8 almost made him forget his worries, but this had reminded him. _Dealing with enemies. Killing more people. _What was he doing, advising little children on how to become monsters like him? He really didn't want them to become monsters. But if they didn't get stronger, they'd die. That wasn't an appealing option either. Nothing was. He felt as if he was lost, alone at the bottom of a well and darkness was pressing at him from all sides, threatening to consume him completely. His visitors were talking, but their words didn't register in his mind. He didn't care that he was being rude. He just wanted them to go away so he could sulk in peace. He stayed silent, staring into the wall, until a nurse came and chased his visitors out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha hospital~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The assassin crept along the corridors stealthily. His target was almost within reach. It took him a long time to come this close. The target was very elusive and very skilled. The assassin had already experienced several near-misses. But this time he was determined to succeed. Considering all the effort he had already put into his quest, anything else was out of the question.

A doctor came around the corner and the assassin dove under a bench quickly. He waited with bated breath as the doctor walked right past him, not sparing him a single glance. Then he sighed in relief. That had been close. If he was captured when he could already see the door to his target's room, he would die of shame. But fortunately it didn't happen and now the path was clear. He left his hiding place and ran towards the door, his feet barely making a sound on the floor.

He reached for the doorknob and paused. Now came the critical part of the plan. He had to take his target by surprise, otherwise there would be no chance of success. His target was too strong and skilled to be defeated in a straight-up fight. Correct timing was everything.

He took a deep breath, threw the door open and rushed in. So far luck was on his side. His target had his back turned to him. The assassin raised his arm, a kunai poised to strike. He sprinted forward. His target began turning around. That wasn't good. He urged his legs for some more speed. Then suddenly someone else appeared in his way. He had never seen the newcomer before, but he could already tell that he was strong. And there was murder in his eyes. The assassin tried to defend against him, but he knew it was futile. There was no way he could stand up to this enemy. Not only had he failed again, this time he was going to die for sure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto knew that he should be polite when talking to the Hokage, but he didn't feel like it. He didn't feel like talking to the Third at all. Though he usually liked the old man, now he couldn't forget that it was ultimately the Sandaime's order that had sent him to Kumo. So he just lay in his bed, stared at nothing at particular, let Sarutobi's apologies and pleas and attempts at psychoanalysis to flow in through one ear, out through the other and wished that the Hokage would finally get away and let him mope in peace. Though the village leader didn't move from his spot for the last forty minutes, there was a mountain of paperwork awaiting him somewhere and he wouldn't be able to ignore it for much longer. Then he would finally stop dredging up bad memories.

"Remember your first kill?" the Hokage asked. Naruto remembered the Chuunin Exams in Suna, the time he wasn't sure whether he had killed one of the contestants during the second test or not. He had been so down about it. And shortly after that he fought battles and slew many without remorse. He really was a monster and turning into something even worse.

"You were on an assassination mission before." Back then he had thought the merchant had deserved it for selling supplies to Kumo. Now he wondered how his family felt, something he hadn't given much thought to when it had mattered. Another proof he was a monster. And on and on it went. Naruto wished it was over already. Though maybe he deserved it. He was a monster and should suffer for all he had done.

Then the door suddenly swung open and a figure rushed in, a kunai in his hand, and headed straight for the Sandaime's unprotected back. Naruto's instincts took over. He sprung from his bed and rushed at the attacker, racing to intercept him before he could reach the Hokage. He could see the shock in the assassin's wide eyes as he realized that he had failed. Naruto extended Wind Blades from his fingernails, preparing to cut down the intruder. Then something grabbed him by the forearm and threw him into the nearest wall, nearly dislodging his shoulder in the process. He quickly rolled to his feet, ready to face the new threat. Instead he found himself facing the Hokage, who looked very angry.

"Stop," Sarutobi ordered. Though his voice wasn't loud, there was such authority in it that Naruto's body reacted on its own. The blades of Wind chakra dissipated. Naruto blinked. Just what was going on? Where was the attacker? There was only the Hokage with him in the room and there was a young child kneeling on the ground, shaking with fear. His right hand still clutched a blunt practice kunai.

"Why did you try to kill Konohamaru?" Sandaime's voice was stern and a bit disappointed.

"Huh?" Naruto still wasn't sure what was going on. "He attacked you," he said after a few seconds. "He was armed." These were the few things he was certain about.

"He's just a child," Sarutobi pointed out. Naruto just stared. The Hokage realized how stupid his last claim was. Naruto had been only a year older when he had become genin and there were some shinobi who had graduated even younger. Being a child meant nothing.

"I'm not just a child!" Konohamaru finally found his voice, though it was still shaky. The fact that he was seven made his claim even less convincing.

"Who is he?" Naruto inquired.

"Konohamaru. My grandson," the Third answered.

"That's right!" the boy in question shouted. He shook off most of his earlier shock and was now displaying his usual bravado, only an occasional tremble betraying he was still a bit scared.

"Why did he attack you?" Naruto asked. Inside he was close to panicking. 'I've nearly killed a child again. I'm really a monster. I just kill everything that moves without looking what it is. I shouldn't be allowed among people.'

"I don't know where did we go wrong with him," the elder Sarutobi sighed. "He began this nonsense a month ago. This was the fourth attack today."

"It's not nonsense!" Konohamaru protested. "I'm going to defeat you and show everybody I'm a strong ninja!"

"It isn't that easy," Hiruzen said, sounding as if he had given this lecture many times before and was beyond bored of it.

"Idiot," Naruto snarled. "Be glad you don't have to be a ninja yet." 'Just be glad you don't have to kill yet. It isn't going to last.' The Sandaime watched the argument with curiosity, glad that Naruto was finally showing interest in something.

"I have to be the strongest ninja to be the Hokage!" Konohamaru exclaimed.

"Why would you want that?" Naruto scoffed. Ordering massacres was almost worse than actually performing them.

"So I can stop the war," the boy answered as if it should have been self-obvious.

Naruto recoiled as if struck. _Stop the war._ The words echoed in his head. _Stop the war. _Now wouldn't that be wonderful?

"It isn't that easy," the Hokage sighed. He was getting really, really tired of delivering the same speech over and over again and having it fall on deaf ears every single time.

"It is!" Konohamaru defended is master plan. "When I am the strongest, then everybody will have to do as I say 'cause if they don't, I beat them up." It sounded really simple, but there was an obvious flaw in it.

"Nobody is that strong," Hiruzen pointed out. "No-one ever was."

"Then I will be," Konohamaru insisted stubbornly. Before his grandfather could reply, the door opened again. This time it revealed a bespectacled man in jounin uniform.

"Here you are, Honorable Grandson!" the newcomer exclaimed.

"Drat, how did he find me?" Konohamaru muttered.

"You shouldn't skip your lessons, Honorable Grandson," Ebisu lectured. "You won't become the Hokage if you don't train."

Konohamaru tried to dart out of the door, but Ebisu was too skilled to allow him to slip past. He grabbed the child by his collar and dragged him off, presumably to some boring lesson. Once they were gone Sarutobi tried to resume the talk from earlier. He quickly realized that Naruto was listening to him even less than he did before. He wished he knew what the child was thinking. He could make an educated guess, but he had the feeling that it would be off. Eventually he sighed and gave up the pointless talk. There was a mountain of paperwork waiting for him in his office and steadily growing in his absence. For once it actually looked inviting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha hospital~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto stared out of the window. In front of him Konoha was bathed in the afternoon sun, looking deceptively peaceful. Naruto barely registered the people going about their business in the streets. _To stop the war, _Konohamaru's words echoed in his head. It was a noble idea. If the war ended, everything would be much better again. Unfortunately like most noble ideas it belonged to legends and fairy tales rather than real life. Stopping a war among shinobi countries wasn't so easy. It usually took one side being dead or both of them out of supplies and ninja to begin talking about peace. But still, it was a worthy dream. Peace. Even a little brat saw it and did everything in his power to accomplish it, even if he was completely misguided in his efforts. So why was he, a seasoned chuunin, moping around in a hospital bed? His wounds had healed days ago. He should be out there, doing something to ensure that the war was going to end.

But that brought the question of what exactly he could do. Kill the enemy forces so they would have to give up? That was a way, but it made him want to throw up. He didn't want to kill again. He didn't want to be a monster. But he was one. He had already killed countless defenseless people who had never done him any harm. Could he justify killing them just because they had been born in another village? But if he didn't do it, he would be hurting Konoha. But wouldn't that be worth it if it meant that the war was finally over?

Naruto was shocked by his own thoughts. Did he really just think that he wouldn't mind Konoha losing the war if it meant it was finally over? That was treason. But the idea didn't disgust him quite as much as the prospect of more killing, more massacres like the one in Kumo. Did Konoha really deserve to win if they condoned atrocities like that? Did the others deserve to win? They weren't any better. He had heard about an Iwa squad that managed to infiltrate Suna and blew up a civilian housing district. And Kumo forces once tried to set fire to a forest a Konoha squad was hiding inside, not caring about the villages around it that would have been destroyed too. And let's not get started about Otogakure. The world suddenly looked bleak. It was full of monsters and he just couldn't see a really good person anywhere. It made him want to curl up and die.

A slight shift in the air signaled that the door to his room had been just opened. He whirled around, his hand reaching for a kunai he didn't have. When his fingers found only air, he slid into his taijutsu stance instead. Only then he noticed his visitor. Konohamaru. His small, childish face was looking at him with a mixture of fear and determination. Naruto wanted to kick himself. He did it again, nearly killed a child. But he couldn't help his reflexes. It was what kept him alive during battles. He shook his head. He really was a monster, not fit for human society. The way he was going it was just a matter of time before he really killed somebody.

The door opened the whole way, revealing that the Hokage's grandson brought two friends with him, a boy and a girl his own age. The three children strode inside purposefully. Naruto forced himself to relax from his combat stance. There was something about the trio that just screamed 'confrontation.' Eventually they stopped a few paces before him and Konohamaru stared into his eyes.

"Train us, Boss," he stated.

"What?" Naruto blinked in surprise. He didn't know what to expect from the three Academy students, but this certainly wasn't it.

"You're strong," Konohamaru continued. "Train us." Well, Naruto supposed he was strong, at least from their point of view. But why would the younger boy want to do anything with him after what had happened earlier today?

"Why me?" the chuunin questioned. "Aren't you scared? I nearly killed you."

"You killed gramps' robes," Konohamaru answered.

"What?" Naruto felt he was missing something here.

"I saw it. There were tears in his robes," the Academy student explained. "I could never touch Gramps and you cut his clothes and you're only a bit older than us. You must be really strong. So teach us."

"Please," the girl accompanying him added with a charming smile. In a few years men would fall over for that smile. Even now Naruto found it hard to resist.

"Alright," he said. He wasn't sure why. Maybe because he was tired of the hospital room and wanted something, anything, to do. He knew he wasn't supposed to leave without Tsunade's permission, but he didn't care.

"Great!" Konohamaru laughed. "Let's go."

He led them to a training ground Naruto had never been to before. It was probably a private training ground of the Sarutobi clan, or maybe the Hokage's, but with the Honorable Grandson there it was probably alright for them to be here.

"Show me what you can do, kiddies," Naruto prompted them. Konohamaru Corps waited for nothing and attacked. It was a very short and brutal battle. When the three seven year old children lay on the ground, groaning in pain, Naruto made a mental note to tone down his abilities even more than he was already doing. He really didn't want to hurt them.

"I see you really are strong," Konohamaru said when he caught his breath again. Then he grinned and attacked.

They spent the next hour like that. The children were trying to beat Naruto, he blocked them and sometimes explained what they were doing wrong. Eventually the Academy students' endurance ran out and Konohamaru declared a break.

"That was more fun than training with Ebisu," Konohamaru declared. "This way I'll be Hokage in no time!"

"Don't look so cheerful," Naruto replied. "Being a ninja is much harder than you can imagine. And being the Hokage is much worse."

"I don't care! I'm going to become strong enough!" Konohamaru announced his determination.

"It isn't about your abilities," Naruto shook his head. "It's about what you have to do when you're a ninja."

"I can do anything," the Hokage's grandson stated with conviction, demonstrating that his idea of 'anything' was rather limited.

"You say this only because you've never been in a battle before," the chuunin said. "You don't really understand what it is you want to do. You can't understand what it is like to kill and see your comrades die in front of your eyes and be powerless to stop it."

"I can understand," Konohamaru insisted, his voice suddenly serious. Naruto looked at him in surprise. The child sounded like he was speaking the truth. But how could he when he's been sheltered within the village for his whole life? "My cousin Tomoya died last month. He was a genin, just graduated, and they ran into a Kumo team. That was when I decided I'll become Hokage and stop this war, so nobody else will have to die."

"So you haven't actually seen any killing with your own eyes," Naruto observed. "You only think you know what it is like. Your goal is noble, but are you willing to fight for it? Die for it? Kill for it?"

"I am!" Konohamaru shouted proudly. "But I won't kill. I'll make it so that people wouldn't kill each other anymore!" His two teammates nodded in support. Naruto sighed. These three quite obviously had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

"It doesn't work like that," he said, though he suspected his words would fall on deaf ears. And he was right.

"It does," Konohamaru insisted. "If I am the strongest, then I can change things and nobody can stop me."

"When did that ever work?" Naruto asked.

"When Senju Hashirama said he wanted peace, everybody said he was crazy. But he didn't listen to them and founded Konoha and nobody could do anything about it, because he was the strongest."

Naruto had to admit Konohamaru's theory had merit. He was no history expert and he knew that the Academy student left out a lot, but basically it was true. The Shodai Hokage had accomplished something that had never been attempted before, at least not successfully, and he had pulled it off because he had had enough strength to protect Konoha during its infancy. By the time he had died the village had already been strong enough to hold its own against its enemies. The idea of villages where various clans could live in harmony had caught on. The idea of peace didn't. Instead of warring clans there were warring villages now. It just made the war bigger. Probably. Naruto was no history expert.

"He founded Konoha, but we still don't have peace," the blond boy mused aloud.

"Then we have to make it," Konohamaru said with determination. Naruto smiled. Konohamaru's enthusiasm was contagious. And the boy was right. If they wanted peace, they'd have to make it. Once they figured out how to do it. But at that moment Naruto felt that it was possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto sat in the treehouse near the training grounds, staring out of the window absently. He had tried to train before, but his heart wasn't in it. Though it felt good to move after being cooped up in the hospital for so long, he couldn't help but think about what he was training for. Despite his earlier resolve to become stronger because weaklings could change nothing, he still cringed at the idea of what being strong meant. His mind supplied him images of every corpse from every battlefield he had ever fought on. He tried to shut out the memories and concentrate on his training, but that was easier said than done. When he tried spinning Wind chakra in his hand, he imagined the damage a completed Wind Rasengan would inflict on the human body and felt sick to his stomach. He cut the training short after that and hid inside the treehouse Tenzo had built for him with his jutsu so long ago.

Naruto sighed and looked around the room. It was full of reminders of happier times. Innocent times of his childhood. A box of toys lay in a corner. He hadn't played with them for so long he couldn't even remember what they were anymore. He walked over to it and opened the lid. It was full of tiny wooden figures. It was another gift Tenzo had made for him with his Mokuton. Toy ninja. They stood in taijutsu stances, kicked, punched, jumped, crawled, prepared to cast jutsu and hid behind corners. Now Naruto could remember. He used to spent hours here, playing with the little wooden men, shuffling them around the room, staging great ninja battles and simple assassinations of evil men. He had been so naive back then. Being a ninja was no game. Would he still have wanted to become one if he knew what it was like? No. Maybe. He used to be quite dumb back then so he probably would have believed he could change things. And now he was a real ninja and believed exactly the same. Did it make him an idiot? Or just desperate, because he had no other choice?

With a sigh, he slammed the lid close, locking the little wooden ninja in their dark prison once more. They reminded him that he too was just a figure moved across the board that was the Elemental Nations according to the wishes of the people in charge. He didn't like being a chess piece. He wanted to become a player. And he'd have to be strong to accomplish that. If only the path to strength wasn't soaked in so much blood.

He was snapped out of his musings by the sound of somebody climbing the ladder. He looked out of the door. It was Tenzo. The jounin had made noise on purpose so he wouldn't startle him.

"Hello," he greeted.

"Hello," Naruto replied, trying to sound happy and failing. Though he was glad to see his caretaker, he couldn't muster the energy to feel happy about anything lately.

"How do you feel?"

"Fine." An obvious lie, but Tenzo didn't question it.

"So you can take missions again?"

Missions. Killing. Naruto's mood soured instantly. He didn't want to do it, but sitting around in here, playing with his old toys, would solve nothing. He had to face the harsh reality of ninja life again.

"Yes," he answered. Tenzo studied him for a while before nodding.

"Good. I bought you something." He then presented him with a long package. Upon unwrapping it, Naruto saw that it was a sheathed ninjato. He stared at it blankly.

"You lost your old one so you need a new one," the jounin said in explanation. He then unsheathed it, showing the naked blade. "Will you take it?"

Taking up the sword? That was symbolic. Like something from the old stories Tenzo used to read to him when he was a little child. Naruto studied the offered weapon. It was made from chakra conductive metal. The craftsmanship was superb. It must have cost Tenzo a fortune. It was a bit longer than his old ninjato used to be, but that was understandable. He had grown since he had received the last one, though not as much as he wished. Hana's dogs really were bigger than him now.

He stared at the blade some more, not really seeing it. He hated the bloodshed it symbolized, he didn't want to touch it, but he knew that refusing it would change nothing. The war would still go on. If he wanted to change it, he'd have to stop moping and do something. He didn't know what he should do, but he could figure it out later. And so with a sigh he picked up the weapon.

The hilt fit into his hand perfectly, as if it was made just for him. It probably was, though Tenzo didn't say it. Naruto gave it a couple of test swings. The edge sang as it cut through the air. It was really sharp. Naruto channeled a little Wind chakra through it. It was so easy. Despite himself, the boy smiled. It was a truly beautiful weapon.

"Thank you," he said. He looked out of the window. There, standing in the sun, were his teammates, waving at him, beckoning him to join them. He smiled his first genuine smile in a long while. His teammates still wanted him. They didn't think he was a monster. It didn't occur to him that maybe they didn't know what he had done. He just was happy that he wasn't alone. He waved at them and jumped down from the house. Whatever trials were awaiting them, they were going to face them together.

* * *

And that's it for now.

Next time: A new mission and some canon characters come to visit.


	62. Two places

**Author's note:** Another chapter here. For those of you who didn't like the previous arc, here comes something different. Also some characters many of my readers have been asking about finally appear. And third good news - this chapter has an illustration. Look it up on my DeviantArt profile. If you've read my previous Author's notes, you should know the link is in my author's profile page. Now read and (hopefully) enjoy.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But I'm trying to save enough money to buy it.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sasuke growled and tightened his grip as the captive struggled to get free. It earned him four gashes on his forearm, but he refused to let go. He was struggling against his most dangerous opponent so far. He had to suppress a groan. He had been a shinobi for months and this was the strongest enemy he had encountered: a cat. A stupid house pet of the Daimyo's wife.

When the war had broken out, he had expected to face many strong opponents to measure his skills against and grow into more strength, but so far it wasn't happening. They had taken a C-rank mission before, an escort to a merchant caravan, but there had been absolutely no fighting. Not even a single bandit had tried to rob them. And the countryside was supposed to be littered with highwaymen and nukenin during wartime. But they had seen neither hair nor hide of either. Sakura thought it was because they were scared of the famous Uchiha, but she was alone in her opinion.

The most dangerous thing that had happened was when the wheel of one of the carts broke while fording a river and the wagon tumbled into the water. The merchant had tried to weasel out of paying for the mission by claiming that they hadn't protected his wares from destruction by being thoroughly soaked in muddy water, but Kakashi had explained to him in no uncertain terms that their mission was to protect him from attacks and they were in no way responsible for the damage caused by his shoddy maintenance on his wagons. Sasuke had to admit that the way Kakashi-sensei had the merchant squirming was really impressive. Unfortunately that didn't help him to become stronger and Sasuke needed that the most. He was ten already. Itachi had been a chuunin at that age. And he? Still a genin stuck on D-rank so-called missions.

The last Uchiha in Konoha was brought out of his musings by another of Tora's attempts to escape.

"Stop it," he growled at the stupid animal, but the monster cat paid him no heed and struggled harder.

"Squeeze it a bit harder and you'll kill it," Nohara Shinta, his annoying teammate, commented. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to fail a D-rank."

"Don't be rude to Sasuke-kun!" Haruno Sakura, his other annoying teammate, snapped. Sometimes he wondered which one of them was worse.

"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun!" Shinta mocked. "Is that all you can say?" Sasuke was wondering the same thing.

"Don't be rude," Sakura barked at Shinta.

"Speak for yourself," Shinta shot back. Sasuke suppressed a sigh. His teammates were at it again. He did his best to ignore them. They were almost at the Mission Office now and once they arrived there, he could finally get rid of his furiously scratching burden. He had to apply all of his self-control not to race to the door as soon as it came into view. He was an Uchiha, so he had to behave in a dignified manner no matter what. But even he couldn't suppress the sigh of relief when they finally walked through the door and handed the monster cat to the Daimyo's wife who immediately began cooing over her precious Tora-chan. Sasuke would have felt pity for the animal if all his scratches weren't stinging. This way he only thought that Tora got what it deserved.

"Sasuke-kun!" The fangirlish squeal wasn't anything unusual, but this time it came in a different voice. Sasuke was tempted to look, but he knew better than to do something so stupid. Fangirls mustn't be encouraged, no matter what. They'd take even a simple eye contact as a declaration of undying love. And if he wasn't mistaken, this voice belonged to the second worst fangirl right after Sakura.

"What are you doing here, Ino-pig?" the pink-haired kunoichi scowled.

"We're just leaving on a mission," the Yamanaka girl announced. "We got a C-rank. Now I get the chance to show how much better ninja than you I am and then Sasuke-kun will be all mine." Sasuke didn't even bother to suppress the urge to roll his eyes, no matter how undignified it looked.

"Hands off Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screeched.

"Like he'd ever notice you, Billboard-Brow," Ino scoffed. Sakura looked ready to pounce.

"Hope you won't meet any enemies there," Shinta said. "Your teammate makes a nice big target."

"Did you just call me fat?" Chouji growled between bites of barbecue-flavored chips.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered under his breath. Sasuke agreed with him wholeheartedly. Why, oh why was he stuck on the team with the worst fangirl ever and the dumb dead-last? Sakura was good only at looking girly and squealing and Shinta's only functional weapon was his sharp tongue. Both of them were completely useless in anything requiring actual ninja skills. How did they ever graduate was beyond him. And as if his teammates weren't bad enough, there was his sensei. Sasuke knew that Kakashi was a very strong ninja, but he wasn't a very good teacher. He concentrated mostly on making the three genin work together as a team and didn't teach them any powerful jutsu. Didn't he know Sasuke needed the strength to defeat That Man? Or didn't he care? Considering that his head was constantly buried in the orange book, the silver-haired jounin probably cared only about his porn.

"Stop it," the voice of Asuma-sensei interjected. "We have to be at the gate in an hour. The more time you waste here, the less time you have to pack."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered once again and then Team 10 left.

"I want a real mission too." Sasuke didn't realize he had said it aloud until he felt the eyes of everybody on him.

"Now, Sasuke kun..." Iruka-sensei, who was sitting at the mission desk began, but he was interrupted.

"I want a real mission too," Sakura said. "I can't let Ino-pig show me up."

"Yeah. I have to show that I'm a better ninja than the fatass," Shinta joined. Iruka glared at the trio disapprovingly, but before he could scold them, Kakashi spoke without raising his eyes from his book.

"I officially request a C-rank mission for Team 7." Iruka looked at him dubiously. "They're more than ready for it."

"It's dangerous. Especially in these times," Iruka insisted.

"They were on a C-rank before," Kakashi pointed out. "They'll do fine."

"They are still just children," the scarred chuunin protested.

"They are my soldiers now," the one-eyed jounin stated. His three genin felt their chests swell with pride at the words. "And C-ranks aren't that dangerous."

Iruka frowned. While it was true that the standard escort or courier C-rank mission was usually just a quiet trip where the most trouble came from an obnoxious client, the problem was that all such missions had been already handed out for today, the last of them taken by Team 10. What remained wasn't something rookie genin should do. But Hatake-san had officially requested a C-rank and the jounin outranked him, so there was nothing the chuunin could do. So with a heavy sigh he picked one mission scroll that looked like the least dangerous.

"This is the request from Aomori Village. A small bandit group has made camp not far from them and has been bothering them ever since. They request we get rid of the bandits."

"Good," Sasuke said. Finally a mission where fighting was certain. Some no-name bandits wouldn't be much of a challenge, but it was way better than cats. He couldn't wait to get into his first real battle and slay his first real opponent.

Sakura looked a bit fearful, but she had requested a C-rank, so she wasn't going to back off now. And Sasuke was happy with their mission, so she was happy for him too. _**"We're going to show them, shannaro!" **_Inner Sakura cheered. "We're going to do it," the pink-haired girl said with conviction.

"We're going to rock," Shinta smirked. He was already imagining how he defeated more bandits than the stuck-up Uchiha and earned well-deserved praise and awe of his teammates.

"We'll take it," Kakashi said simply, his eyes still glued to his book. Iruka handed him the scroll. Kakashi read it quickly. "Well, genin, get packed, we're leaving in an hour."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Fire Country Forest~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The messenger ran through the treetops. She had been on the road since the morning and it was almost evening now. She was tired and the setting sun was shining into her eyes, making her squint constantly. She wanted to take a break, but the message she was carrying was marked as urgent. She should deliver it as fast as possible. And besides, her destination wasn't far. Soon she'll arrive at the base, hand the scroll to the commander and then she can eat some warm food and sleep in a soft bed with a blanket and a pillow, at least until he sent her off with another message. If she stopped now, she could eat only field rations and rest on the cold, hard ground, don't forget wet after yesterday's rain, and she'd have to be constantly on alert for possible enemies. There shouldn't be many in this region, but during wartime one could never be sure enough.

Speaking of being on alert, maybe she should check whether she was really as alone in the forest as she believed. She took a short breather and surveyed her surroundings. Sight: the play of light and shadows on the tree leaves made it very hard to see anything clearly. But she didn't see anything that suggested enemy presence. Hearing: the leaves were rustling in the wind, the birds were chirping, the flies were buzzing, maybe a bit too loud for the evening hour. Smell: rotting leaves, some forest flowers, was that blood? She wasn't sure, she wasn't an Inuzuka, so her nose was nothing special. But during her ninja career she had learned to recognize the smell of death. And this was definitely it, though it was so faint she couldn't be sure she wasn't imagining it. But if there truly was a corpse lying around, it would explain why the flies were so loud.

So what should she do? She had an important scroll to deliver, but so far she had been making good time, so she could afford a bit of delay. But no more than half an hour. And if there really was a dead body, the base commander would want to know about it. And the carcass should be close if she could smell it. She judged the most probable direction and headed that way.

She found it in just six minutes. The body had been covered in dry leaves hastily, but the wind had uncovered it partially. It was a man in Konoha uniform, with shoulder-length dark hair and a bandanna on his head. She remembered seeing him around the village several times. She couldn't recall his name of the top of her head, but she thought he was a jounin. And if her memory was serving her well, the last time she saw him there was a genin team tagging behind him. She frowned. If he was a jounin sensei, where were his students?

She searched around for a while. Finding the next body didn't take long. It was a boy of about ten years of age with a Leaf hitai-ate and his head covered in bandages. She vaguely recalled a genin wearing this strange fashion. This was definitely one of the man's students. Another student lay next to the first one. He was a rather unremarkable boy in a green jacket with short dark hair. The only noticeable feature on him were his goggles. She couldn't honestly remember whether she had seen him before or not. But try as she might, she couldn't find the third one. And the sun had set and darkness was falling, so her chances of finding the third genin were getting slim.

She decided to call it a day. She still had an urgent report to deliver. And once she did that, she'd report her find and let the base commander deal with this problem. She could already tell that her meager abilities wouldn't be enough to deal with it. She wouldn't stand a chance against whoever had killed a jounin, being just a chuunin herself.

She shot the three bodies one last glance and jumped to the trees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Aomori village~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The journey to Aomori village was uneventful. The worst thing that happened to them was when a downpour began suddenly and Sakura complained that it ruined her hairdo. Kakashi had to put away his inseparable book lest it would be ruined by the rain. Shinta grumbled that he was wet and cold. Sasuke was wet and cold too, but he didn't complain and not just because complaining was beneath the Uchiha. He was happy that he was on his first real mission (their first C-rank didn't count). He was excited for the battles ahead. It distracted him completely from being wet and cold. Well, maybe not completely, but it gave him the strength to ignore it.

The rain had stopped and the sun shone brightly, drying them before they arrived at their destination. Being dry and warm raised everybody's spirits, so the genin were chattering merrily. Well, at least Sakura and Shinta were. And even Sasuke couldn't find it in himself to be annoyed at them because the Aomori village finally appeared before them. He quickened his step. He couldn't wait to finally test his strength against a real opponent.

From a distance Aomori looked peaceful, even beautiful, like so many settlements in this area. As its houses were illuminated in the late afternoon rain, their roofs still clean and shiny after the rain had washed them, it was easy to imagine that this was one of the fabled secret valleys where people lived in peace, keeping ancient knowledge nobody outside was allowed to know. Or at least a luxurious holiday resort even the Daimyo would like to visit. But once they got closer the illusion shattered. It soon became obvious that not all was well in Aomori. The paint on many houses was flaking and there were some holes in the facades that looked like they were caused by weapons. The people were wary, many of them dressed in rags and a lot of them eyeing the ninja with suspicion. There even was a ruin of a burnt down house.

"Shouldn't they be happy to see us?" Sakura asked. "We're here to save them."

"They distrust all armed strangers," Kakashi answered. For once he wasn't reading his orange book. "That's quite common, especially during wartime."

"B-but we're from Konoha!" the girl protested. "They should know we're friends!"

The jounin sighted. Should he explain to her that wearing a Leaf headband wasn't a guarantee that a shinobi was friendly? Should he tell her about what some Konoha ninja did? It would shatter her world, and he wanted to protect his students. But allowing them to remain ignorant was dangerous.

"War makes people do things they otherwise wouldn't," he spoke. There was no need to go into details right now; there would be enough time for that once they didn't have a mission to worry about. "And the fact that somebody wears the same hitai-ate as you doesn't mean he's on the same side. Have you never heard of nukenin?"

"Uh," Sakura nodded, looking thoughtful and a bit scared. She didn't say anything more.

Soon they reached the village square. There they noticed one house that was bigger than the others and built in a more luxurious style.

"That must be the mayor's house," Shinta observed.

"Everybody can see that," Sakura barked, annoyed that she missed a chance to show off in front of Sasuke. The object of her affection merely glared.

But when they walked up to it and asked for the mayor, they were told he lives in a much less grand house on the other side of the square. This luxurious residence belonged to a rich merchant.

"See how stupid you are," Sakura smirked victoriously in Shinta's direction.

"You thought it was the mayor's house too," the boy reminded her.

"Stop arguing, you're making a bad impression," Kakashi scolded them. It sounded hypocritical considering that his face was once again firmly planted in his favorite orange book.

The mayor turned out to be a middle-aged man, with balding salt-and-pepper hair and a growing belly. When he saw Team 7, he squinted at them from behind his thick-rimmed glasses.

"What's this?" he scoffed. "I asked for shinobi, not a bunch of schoolchildren." If glares could kill, he'd be dead on the spot.

"We are shinobi," Sakura was the first one to speak.

"Good ones," Shinta added. Sasuke just glared. Responding to some civilian's taunt was beneath the dignity of an Uchiha. But he was already planning how to get him back for that.

The mayor seemed skeptical, but he realized that this bunch of children and a one-eyed man was the best he was going to get, especially for the money he was willing to pay.

"Alright," he sighed. "This is what we know: The bandits usually attack from northeast and leave the same way. We think that their camp is in the valley over that ridge. Or maybe the one behind it, though that would mean they walk a very long distance before and after each raid. And now go, kill them and bring back all their loot and captives. And if you get killed in the process, don't expect us to pay for it." If looks could kill, Sasuke's glare would have incinerated him on the spot. (Well, Uchiha looks can kill, but because Sasuke hadn't achieved the Magenkyou Sharingan yet, this option wasn't available to him.)

"Like we'd get killed by some bandits," Shinta scoffed. Sakura nodded in agreement, though usually she opposed everything her loudmouth teammate said.

"We won't fail, so you better have the money ready," Kakashi spoke, a hint of threat in his voice. The mayor just grumbled. Team 7 filed out of the house.

"Such a pleasant fellow," Sakura commented sarcastically. "Are all clients like this?" The mayor was even worse that the merchant.

"No, but quite a lot of them is," the silver-haired jounin based his answer on long-term experience. "Fortunately you don't have to deal with them much, unless you're stuck on a bodyguard mission." The three genin contemplated it for a while. "Now let's go, we have a few hours of daylight left, so we might locate the camp before evening."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha's Base~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a slow day at the base. The rainy season had begun a week earlier and the frequency of attacks of Iwa ninja had died down. Konoha's attacks slowed as well. It was like that every year during wartime. Nobody really wanted to fight in the cold, damp weather. There was still the possibility of surprise attacks so nobody could afford to let their guard down, but generally the armies enjoyed almost two months break from the fighting.

Team Tenzo was enjoying their time off, spending it mostly cooped up inside the buildings. They hadn't been here for long, only a couple of weeks, but they had already seen a lot of fighting. Naruto was doing his best to pretend that it didn't bother him, but he knew he was failing because of the looks his teammates were giving him. He just pretended harder. He tried to lose himself in his training, because when he had to concentrate on spinning dense Wind chakra, he couldn't think about mutilated bodies, but it was only a temporary fix. Once he stopped the memories returned. Then he could only plaster a fake smile on his face and claim that he was alright, fending off his teammates' concerned questions. He knew he couldn't go on like this for long, but he had no idea what else could he do. Telling his teammates what was really bothering him was out of the question, as far as he was concerned. And so he struggled with the nightmares and waited for something to happen. His wishes might have come true when Team Tenzo was summoned to the commander's office.

"We've received disturbing news," the commander began without preamble once the team walked into his office. Naruto with a sense of cold dread in his stomach waited to hear just what had gone wrong this time and how much blood would be spilled because of it. His two teammates seemed calm as they listened attentively. He envied them being able to do so. "A genin team with their jounin-sensei have been killed near here. One of the genin is missing." He paused for a moment, letting the information sink in. Naruto kept his face calm as he imagined mangled corpses of children. He really didn't want to see more of them, but it looked like he would have to. "Your mission is to investigate and if possible deal with the culprit. Here is the information we have about it." He handed them a scroll. Tenzo unrolled it. Inside were the coordinates to where the bodies lay and what little info the base had on the victims.

"Why us?" Hotaru muttered under her breath, looking through the window as it began raining again. It wasn't meant for anyone's ears, but the base commander heard it.

"Your team has a reputation for solving unexpected problems," he said.

"Yes, call us Team Troublemaker," Naruto said, trying to keep a cheerful grin on his face. He probably wasn't fooling his teammates, but he had to try.

"Didn't you want to say Troubleshooter?" Hana questioned.

"It doesn't matter," Tenzo interjected before the team could start bickering.

"With Naruto around there's no difference," Hotaru said.

"Hey!" the boy protested dutifully. Inside he was agreeing with the statement. Trouble really followed him wherever he went. He could just pray that this time it won't be too bad and that his team would get out of it alright, preferably with the missing genin as well.

The commander dismissed them and they filed out of his office. "You know the orders, so get your packs. We're leaving in ten minutes," Tenzo announced. The two girls took off towards their room. Naruto was stopped by Tenzo's hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" the jounin asked. Naruto glared at him. Just what did he think the answer was?

"I'm well enough to take the mission," he replied.

"Are you sure? We can..."

"We can't," Naruto interrupted. "We have an order." And he was determined to fulfill it. Not just because of the missing genin. He needed something to do. Otherwise the memories would come again.

Tenzo studied him for a while. He had a good idea what was going through his student's mind. He had been in Anbu for years, so being plagued by nightmares even while awake was something he had plenty of experience with. There really wasn't much to do about it other than endure. He just wished Naruto was older when he got to this state. Will he be able to get over it or will it break him? There was no way to know. He could just offer his support and hope for the best. And grab his backpack, because the time they were supposed to depart was almost upon them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mountain valley~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The forest path was thin, but easy to follow. The mayor's information turned out to be true; the bandits really came from the valley to the northeast of Aomori village. That was quickly confirmed by Pakkun who was now running in front of the team, nose close to the ground, following the faint trail the raiders had left behind. They made no effort to conceal it, so it was easy work. 'Really, don't they worry about being attacked?' was a though that crossed the mind of each of the members of Team 7. All of them decided that it meant that the bandits were really stupid. This was going to be an easy mission.

It was almost evening and the sun had already disappeared behind the mountain peaks when they finally came upon the bandit camp. Even in the fading light they could see it clearly. It wasn't what Sakura had imagined. The tents and shacks built from anything that could be found or stolen in the mountains weren't that far off from her idea. What was completely off was their amount. If this was meant for a small bandit group, she didn't want to know what a big one was like. There was at least fifteen huts and if each of them housed four people, some of them even more... she regretted she had been so good at maths at the Academy. She'd be much happier if she didn't know how badly they were outnumbered.

"They aren't ninja," Sasuke stated. He sounded completely calm. 'Yes, they aren't ninja,' Sakura realized with a start. It didn't really matter how many was there, neither of them could touch a trained shinobi, even if said shinobi was a genin who would be still at the Academy if it wasn't for the war, the rational part of her mind added. _**"We can do it!" **_Inner Sakura's boast drowned out the voice of reason. _**"We're going to show Sasuke-kun how good we are! Shannaro!"**_

"They won't know what hit them," Shinta smirked, a hint of bloodlust in his voice.

"Don't be so hasty, children," Pakkun chastised them, which made Sasuke bristle. "We know nothing about their abilities."

"They're just some bandits," the Uchiha scoffed. He couldn't wait to show off just how much stronger he was than them. He was glad that there was so many of them - it wouldn't be a challenge otherwise.

"Pakkun is right," Kakashi interjected just when Sasuke was about to get up and charge the camp on his own. "The fact that there's more of them than we were told means our intel was incorrect. Who knows what else we don't know? There can always be a nukenin on two with a band like this."

Sakura gasped. She really didn't want to fight a nukenin. She wasn't sure she'd survive it. But maybe Sasuke would save her...

"Good," the object of her fantasy interrupted her daydream. "At least it won't be boring." He liked this mission more and more. If he could kill his first real shinobi opponent today, he'd get a step closer to being able to defeat Itachi.

"We can handle them," Shinta added. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

"_**We can do it!" **_Inner Sakura screamed, but it failed to restore Sakura's confidence. "What are we going to do?" she asked.

"We are going to gather more information, of course," the jounin answered. "The big boulders over there should provide us enough cover to get closer to them. They didn't even post any guards, so it should be easy."

"They really are asking to be killed," Shinta smirked. Sasuke just wondered whether the bandits' carelessness was a good or a bad thing. On one hand it meant easier completion of their mission, on the other it mean he couldn't test his abilities against a really strong opponent. He wished he could fight a worthy enemy soon.

Suddenly Pakkun sniffed the air. "Behind us!" he barked a warning. Kakashi whirled around. There stood a huge man wearing something that probably used to be an Iwa uniform a long time ago, wielding a spiked iron club almost as tall as him. The moment he realized he had been spotted he produced an impressive amount of Killing Intent. It didn't faze Kakashi, but his genin were a completely different matter. Sakura shrieked and sprinted off. Shinta didn't follow her example only because he tripped. Sasuke stood frozen, staring at the enemy. Kakashi sighed. It looked like this fight was up to him. But what did he expect? He was accompanied by a bunch of green genin who had never been in a real fight before. Though he thought he had trained them better than that. And they were ten already. When he had been their age, he had been already a seasoned chuunin. Kids these days just weren't what they used to be.

The nukenin moved forward and swung his club. He was fast for his size, but Kakashi was faster. He ducked around the swing and stepped closer to the enemy. A kunai was already in his hand, poised to strike at his throat. The nukenin blocked it with a metal arm bracer. Kakashi kicked him in the knee. The nukenin stumbled. Kakashi pressed his attack. His kunai stabbed him in the elbow, forcing him to drop the club. He prepared to finish off the man, but then a sudden movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. At first he thought it was another enemy, so he moved to defend, but then he recognized Sasuke. The young Uchiha had finally snapped out of his stupor and decided to join the battle.

Kunai in his hand, Sasuke was charging at the kneeling nukenin. His speed was impressive for a ten-year-old genin, but nowhere near the enemy ninja. The nukenin held a kunai in his healthy left hand and prepared to plunge it deep into the Uchiha's stomach. Kakashi had no intentions of allowing it. He knocked his charging student aside, grabbed the nukenin's wrist and twisted and then cut his throat with his kunai. The nukenin slumped to the ground dead.

Sasuke sprung to his feet and glared. "Fight me!" he challenged the corpse. Predictably, it didn't answer.

"He's dead, Sasuke," Kakashi pointed out.

"He was supposed to fight me!" the Uchiha pouted. "I have to measure my strength!"

"He was far above you, I can tell you that much," the jounin spoke.

"I could have handled him. I'm an Uchiha," Sasuke grumbled.

"You're a fresh genin and he was a chuunin," Kakashi pointed out. "He would have eviscerated you before you could blink."

"If I just had the Sharingan," Sasuke sighed wistfully.

"You don't have it yet, so chose your battles wisely," the jounin-sensei advised.

"How am I supposed to activate it if you don't let me fight?" the Uchiha pouted.

"You can't activate it if you're dead," Kakashi shot back. Sasuke had to grudgingly admit that his teacher was right.

"I can't become stronger if I don't fight," the boy pouted.

"Lucky you, there's enough bandits for everyone," the Copy Ninja replied. Sasuke looked ready to take off and attack the camp right then. Kakashi grabbed his arm.

"Don't be so hasty, there was one nukenin among them, there might be more." Sasuke perked up. He really wanted to fight a worthy opponent. "We need to scout the camp first to make sure you children won't have to fight any." Sasuke pouted. "So you three will..." Kakashi began and trailed off. There was something very wrong with this scene and he just realized what it was. "Where is Sakura?"

* * *

And that's it for today.

Next time: What happened to Sakura? And Team Trouble... sorry, Team Tenzo investigates.


	63. Two missions

**Author's note:** Another chapter and with it comes another illustration. It's on my DA profile. But read the chapter first, the Picture contains spoilers.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I tried to save up enough money to buy it once, but I ended up spending it on ice-cream. Curse the hot summer.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Massacre site~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Team Tenzo reached their destination shortly. It really was close to the base, which made the whole occurrence more worrisome. Who could sneak inside an occasionally patrolled area, kill a jounin and his team and sneak out without being spotted? All members of Team Tenzo asked the question silently and all of them wondered whether they were really up to the task. But all of them squashed their fear and resolved to handle whatever this mission had in store for them.

So now they stared at the sorry remains of Team 2. They really were too young. Probably this year's graduates. 'They really shouldn't be here,' Naruto thought, trying to banish the images of Kumo from his mind. He looked away, searching for anything else to focus on instead. He noticed that Hana seemed particularly anxious too. Her teammates looked at her questioningly.

"They were Kiba's classmates," she said in explanation. If she really tried she might even recall their names. She didn't need to speak any more. Everybody could imagine what was going through her head. It could have been her brother lying here murdered. All it took was a bit of bad luck while being assigned a mission. She could only thank whatever deity there might be that this didn't happen to him. Though getting captured by Oto ninja was bad enough, but at least he had survived.

She shook herself. There was no time to dillydally. They had to find whoever was responsible for this and make sure they won't do it to any more genin teams. And because she was the team's tracker, the finding part relied on her. It was a good think that the Haimaru brothers knew their duties and were already sniffing around. It wasn't long before one of them barked, announcing that he found a trail. It might be faint after the rain, but it wasn't too faint for his nose. They only stayed long enough to make sure that the body of the missing kunoichi wasn't anywhere near and then followed the trail.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Sakura~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She hadn't been paying attention where she was going. All she could care about was getting away from the ogre that had so suddenly appeared. It was a testimony to her panic that she didn't even think about leaving Sasuke behind once. She was too busy panicking. Therefore when the initial rush of adrenaline was spent and she could spare a thought to where she was running, it was already too late to turn around. She was at the outskirts of the bandit camp and there were many tough-looking unwashed individuals approaching her with obviously hostile intent. She screamed again, just because she couldn't think of anything better to do. Then she silently chastised herself. It was time to stop being a scared little girl and start acting like a kunoichi.

Now that her brain was functioning properly again she started working on a strategy to get out of this mess. Going forward didn't seem appealing, too many bandits there, and going backwards was completely out of the question. The Ogre was just too scary. She could only hope that Kakashi-sensei could deal with him. He was supposed to be one of the strongest jounin in Konoha, so he should be able to. So where else could she run? She took a look around. To her left there was a steep upwards slope offering very little cover. That wouldn't do. To her right was a meadow and behind it a forest began. If she ran at her top speed, she could make it there before they caught up with her and once she was between the trees, she could lose them. She was a kunoichi and could do a lot more than mere bandits, like tree-hopping or laying traps. Yes, once she was in the forest, she'd be reasonably safe.

She almost turned to implement her plan when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Her head snapped back towards the camp. There was it, the figure that had seemed familiar to her before. Short, dressed in filthy rags, curly brown hair tangled around an empty staring face. She looked different without her usual sneer, but this close up Sakura recognized her immediately. Kasumi. One of Ami's lackeys and the terror of her Academy days. Only now she didn't look like the self-assured schoolyard bully. She was a broken shell of a person, her eyes staring emptily ahead. Sakura wondered what could have happened to her to render her to this state.

"_**Hah!" **_Inner Sakura cheered. _**"The bitch finally got what she deserves!" **_But Sakura disagreed. Ami's gang might have picked at her mercilessly, but even they didn't deserve this. Nobody deserved this, whatever 'this' was.

She didn't even think about her next action. If she did, she wouldn't have done it, because it was extremely reckless and almost certainly fatal. But her hand slipped into her weapons pouch almost on its own and then hurled a fistful of shuriken at the approaching bandits. It was nigh impossible to miss the crowd. Two of the bandits collapsed to the ground with sharp pieces of metal embedded in various bodyparts, several others dodged belatedly. A path opened in the mob. Still not thinking about her actions Sakura dashed through.

She was very lucky that this particular gang was composed solely of lowly thugs only good for bullying unarmed villagers and they needed numerical advantage to accomplish even that. Otherwise they would have grabbed or cut her as she ran between them. This way they were too slow to react and the fastest of them merely brushed her hair. She reached her target unhindered.

She stopped in front of her captive classmate and grabbed her shoulders.

"Kasumi!" she shouted. The brown-haired girl just stared at her blankly.

"You bitch!" The angry shout from behind reminded Sakura that they weren't alone. She glanced over her shoulder. The bandits have gotten over their initial shock and were approaching her maliciously and a lot more alert that they had been before. And more than a few of them looked like they could actually use the weapons they were carrying. Sakura quickly calculated her chances and discarded the idea of fighting them.

"Let's go!" she shouted, but Kasumi didn't react. "Come!" Sakura repeated, grabbing her hand and tugging. Kasumi finally turned around, but didn't even try to run. She didn't seem to even comprehend the situation they were in. And if they didn't start running soon, they'd be captured. Sakura briefly wondered whether she'd end up the same way Kasumi did.

"_**Leave her and run!" **_Inner Sakura screamed. Sakura was tempted to obey, but she didn't want to abandon a friend in need. _**"She is no friend of yours!" **_Inner Sakura reminded her. And the thugs were coming closer and closer. Sakura was getting desperate. She tugged at Kasumi's hand again, but the curly-haired girl only made a slow, short step forward. _**"We have to go now or we're dead!" **_Inner Sakura urged. Sakura couldn't disagree. The bandits were almost upon them and her panic surged again. She let go of Kasumi's hand and ran. There was only one slight problem: Kasumi didn't let go of her hand, instead squeezing it as hard as she could. That threw her off-balance and both girls tumbled to the ground.

Sakura hissed as she landed on the rocky ground painfully, Kasumi falling on top of her. She pushed the shell-shocked kunoichi off. The good thing was that Kasumi had finally let go of her hand. The bad thing was that the bandits had finally caught up with them and were surrounding them now. The looks on their faces promised her a world of pain.

She almost screamed again, but she struggled to stay calm and think rationally of something that would help her to get out of this situation. She couldn't come up with anything. That made her urge to panic stronger. Her trained reflexes kicked in and she drew out a kunai. It seemed woefully inadequate against the multitude of swords and clubs the bandits were carrying.

"Little girl wants to fight?" One of them said, sounding amused.

"Thinks she's a kunoichi?" another added. "That one thought so too," he pointed at Kasumi, who was huddling on the ground. "We're gonna teach you just like we taught her!"

"Enough talking, let's get her already," yet another one suggested. This one had a trail of blood running down his sleeve, marking the spot where Sakura's shuriken hit. Judging from the way he held his double-handed sword he barely felt the wound. Yet his expression was downright murderous, as if he couldn't wait to pay her back for the scratch a hundred fold.

Sakura's attempt to keep her wits about her finally failed. She couldn't stand the waiting for the bandits to attack anymore. She screamed and charged. The bandit right in front of her was taken by surprise and she plunged the kunai into his stomach. But before she could pull it out, a club landed on her shoulder, knocking her to the ground. She landed hard, wondering whether any of her bones were broken. It certainly hurt bad enough.

She heard a moan. And the ground beneath her moved. She would have freaked out if she already wasn't. Then she realized that the warm and soft thing under her back was Kasumi. For a brief moment she wondered whether she was hurting the other girl, but then the sight of a tall hairy bandit approaching her with a spear poised to strike chased away all other concerns.

She dodged just as the bandit thrust his weapon forward. She escaped the sharp tip narrowly. Then she heard a scream quickly degenerating into gurgling. Kasumi! Sakura had completely forgotten that the brown-haired kunoichi had been lying under her and now the spear had pierced her back, not far from the spine. She watched in horror as the girl twitched on the ground, trying to move, struggling to draw a breath, but knowing that it was in vain. She remembered enough from her anatomy lessons at the Academy to realize it was a fatal wound.

Then the spear was withdrawn abruptly and Kasumi's body shook on the ground. Deep red blood flowed from the wound in a strong stream. An analytical part of Sakura's mind told her that it was from the superior vena cava and that more of it now filled Kasumi's torn lungs, drowning her slowly. But at the forefront of her mind there was only one thought: I've killed Kasumi. I've killed Kasumi. If I had blocked instead of dodging, I could have done that even empty-handed, if I had thought about her, I knew she was under me, I could have saved her, I wanted to save her, but I've killed her instead. She could have been still alive if I hadn't come. I've killed Kasumi. I've killed Kasumi. I've killed Kasumi!

Her mind snapped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Crossroads~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The trail was faint, but well within the ability of Inuzuka dogs to follow. It also helped that after a time of running through the trees the attackers had dropped down on a thin forest trail and followed it up to the mountains. Then Hana stopped at a crossroads.

"What is it?" Hotaru asked.

"They split up here," the Inuzuka explained.

"Where did they take the girl?" Tenzo wanted to know.

"That way," Hana pointed straight ahead. "But half of them headed there," she pointed at the path leading higher into the mountains.

"We just have to save the girl," Naruto said.

"That's just a part of our mission," the jounin reminded them. "We were tasked to eliminate the danger too."

"But the captive should come first," the boy insisted. "We can return here later."

"And they will have too big a headstart," Tenzo retorted. "We'll split up too. Hana, you go with me after the girl, Naruto, Hotaru, you explore the other track."

"Shouldn't we stick together?" Hana frowned. "They did take out a jounin."

"Can we afford the delay?" the jounin retorted. "Besides, the two of us should be enough. A jounin's position is always harder when he has to protect fresh genin. I don't have the handicap."

"I guess that's right," the Inuzuka sighed. "But what about the two of them?" She pointed at Naruto and Hotaru.

"If you see strong enemies, don't engage," Tenzo instructed them. "And now let's go. That girl could be getting killed right now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Sakura~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inner Sakura had spent all her existence in the back reaches of Sakura's consciousness. She could see everything the girl saw, she could hear everything she felt, but she could do nothing. As long as Sakura was in control, she could only offer her comments on everything and most of the times watch as her advice was unheeded. But not anymore. Now that Sakura went deep in shock and retreated inside herself, Inner Sakura was finally free. And she intended to enjoy every moment of it. The fact that she was currently surrounded by a lot of smelly thugs was only a minor inconvenience. Most of them were too busy staring at Kasumi's death throes to pay her much attention anyway. Unfortunately not all of them. One, probably a pal of the one Sakura had stabbed, was about to cut her in half with his sword. She had no intention to let him.

"Shannaro!" She screamed and charged under his sword and punched him in the groin. The man's eyes bulged and he folded to the ground. She didn't wait for him to fall and attacked another one. He lifted his staff to block, but she jumped high and kicked his face. Then somebody grabbed her other leg and smashed her to the ground. The air left her with a painful yelp, but that only enraged her further. Her right hand found a stone. A nice, big rock with sharp edges. Perfect. She threw it into the crowd. The guy she was aiming at blocked with his forearm, but the stone had a lot more momentum than he had expected. She wasn't sure whether she heard his bone crack or not, but his pained grimace was telling enough.

She sprung to her feet. She narrowly avoided a hand trying to grab her hair. Then she got very lucky when two swordsmen trying to kill her bumped into each other and were knocked off-balance. It was time to get out of here. She could come back and kill the thugs later. Now how to get out? A quick look around revealed a possibility. Two big guys were arguing with each other, leaving only a short, young one guarding that particular direction. That was her opportunity.

She made a movement as if to attack the man on her right and then suddenly sprinted to the left. A club glanced her flank, but she only hissed and raced on. The young thug lifted his sword to stop her, but she grabbed her remaining kunai and threw it at him. It hit his shoulder. Then she was upon him and punched his stomach for good measure. And then the circle of bandits was behind her.

"After her!" "Don't let her escape!" "Bitch!" And a few other angry shout followed her. She paid it no attention. The knife that sailed close to her ear and the rock that hit her left shoulder blade were worse, but she didn't let them stop her. She quickly changed directions, putting a wooden hut between her and her pursuers. Then she headed for the nearest forest as fast as her legs would carry her.

She took a look over her shoulder. The distance between her and her pursuers was growing. Heh. Stupid fat bandits. They could never dream of catching her. She'd teach them why they shouldn't mess with a kunoichi. Once she reached the forest, she built a trap. It was the easiest she could do and it wouldn't fool even an Academy student, but for such morons it was just enough. She used all her remaining kunai and shuriken to ensure she got as many of them as possible. Then she ran on, because the pursuers had almost caught up with her.

Agonized shouts from behind informed her that just as she had expected, the bandits had run straight into her trap. So how many did she get? She couldn't see it clearly through the trees in the falling twilight. It wasn't all of them, that was the only thing she was sure of. Some were still on her tail. But they couldn't catch her. She ran on. She ran until she couldn't run anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Kakashi~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A quick search of the surrounding underbrush quickly revealed that Sakura wasn't nearby. When Kakashi summoned Pakkun again, because the pug had returned to wherever he had come from the moment the fight had started, he quickly located her trail and realized that it lead to the bandit camp. Kakashi's mouth straightened into a grim line behind his mask. If Sakura had been taken captive, their situation just took a sharp turn for the worse. He looked towards the camp. He wished he could see what was going on there, but the sun had finally disappeared under the horizon and darkness was falling quickly. The only thing he could be sure of was that there had been a fight in the camp, because there were wounded brigands hobbling around. Also there seemed to be much fewer of them than he would expect from a camp of this size.

"Can you smell what's going on in there, Pakkun?" Kakashi asked. The pug's face wrinkled even more than usual.

"That hole stinks so bad it makes my nose water," he said. "But I can't smell Sakura there."

"Is she dead?" the jounin asked with trepidation.

"I think I could smell that. She's just not there."

"So where she is?"

"I'd have to get closer to find out," Pakkun replied. Kakashi sighed. There was nothing they could use for cover around the bandit camp. He had to admit they had picked their campsite well. But he wasn't a jounin for nothing. He knew many ways to escape detection. Though if there were more nukenin among that bunch, they might see through them.

Pakkun suddenly lifted his head and sniffed the air. "Somebody is coming," he announced. Kakashi's head snapped around. Sure enough, there was a group of three men approaching from the lower parts of the valley. Even at the distance, he could see that they were moving with the grace of skilled warriors. This was going to be troublesome.

"So what that somebody came?" Sasuke scoffed. "They are just some brigands. We can take them."

"Because we're awesome," Shinta added with a grin.

"No, they're ninja," Kakashi corrected them. "At least the three who just arrived."

"There's three of us too," Shinta pointed out.

"Hn." It sounded approvingly.

"They seem above genin level," Pakkun observed.

"Hn." Sasuke was almost smiling. A great opportunity to test his strength just walked into his life. He didn't doubt he could win. He considered himself way above genin level. He was the elite Uchiha after all.

"We can do it," Shinta repeated his opinion. He didn't feel as certain of their victory as Sasuke, but he was optimistic that he would do better than during the earlier fight. He had already survived one scare, he wasn't going to fall for it again.

"It's too dangerous," Kakashi decided. He had a much more realistic opinion on his students' abilities. "I'll go alone."

"What if something happens to you?" Shinta questioned.

"I'm an elite jounin," the one-eyed man replied. "I can take care of myself." 'And if I couldn't, you wouldn't be able to do a thing.'

"But..." It was Sasuke who spoke up this time. He didn't get any further than one word before Kakashi interrupted him.

"No, and that's final. I'm going alone and when I take care of them, we'll find Sakura. So you two stay here unless you want a black mark on your records for insubordination. Understood?" The two genin looked very unhappy, but they nodded obligingly. "Good," Kakashi smiled and sneaked towards the bandit camp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mountain path~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's cold here," Hotaru grumbled, rubbing her bare arms.

"Nobody makes you wear so little," Naruto pointed out, trying not to shiver too obviously.

"This is my style," the purple-haired girl retorted. "I'm a kunoichi. I'm supposed to be sexy."

"I'm no expert on sexy," Naruto replied, "but I think that flak jacket ruins the effect."

"It does," Hotaru agreed with a sigh. "Why does it have to be so bulky? And can't they make it in some prettier color? This shade of green clashes with my hair. Can't they make it purple or black?"

"Then why do you wear it?"

"It might be ugly, but it saved my life a couple of times," the kunoichi answered. "It can stop kunai and shuriken pretty well."

"So if you're wearing the vest anyway, why do you bother showing off your legs?" Naruto questioned.

"As I said, it's my style. I have to show off something."

"Then you're not thorough enough. Remember that Suna kunoichi we met in River Country? The one who was also our chuunin exam proctor?"

"Don't remind me," Hotaru shivered and this time it had nothing to do with the cold. "I'm doing my best to forget her completely. But enough about me? Why do you wear so little? And don't tell me you're not cold, you're all blue."

"I can't help it," Naruto shrugged. "Whenever I use the Whirlwind Fist, my sleeves get shredded. And because I don't want to spend all my money on new clothes, I started wearing short sleeves and pants. Destroying my shoes every once in a while is costly enough."

"If you refine your technique any further, you'd get in trouble for public indecency," Hotaru muttered.

"I'm not that bad," Naruto said defensively.

"Yes, you are," his teammate disagreed. "Remember how you destroyed your pants completely in the battle last week?"

"That was an accident. And there was enough of my pants left. And I was more worried that I sliced my thigh."

"That got me worried too," Hotaru said. "Seriously, how comes you still have all your fingers considering all the Wind blades you use?"

"Sometimes I wonder too," Naruto admitted. There was a moment of silence. Then Naruto stiffened.

"What is it?" Hotaru asked, scanning the surroundings for any sign of danger. She couldn't detect any.

"I hear something."

"What?"

"I'm not sure," he shrugged, "it's too faint. But I think we're close."

They continued forward, a bit more alert.

"I think it's singing," Naruto said after a while.

"What?" Hotaru startled.

"That sound I've been hearing. I think it's singing."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, it's either that or somebody is being quartered alive."

They continued forward. Soon Hotaru could hear it too. It was indeed singing, though horribly off-key. They proceeded forward with more caution. There wasn't much vegetation around to take cover in, but Hotaru cast a genjutsu that made them invisible unless somebody was really good at detecting. It didn't take them long to come within sight of the source of the singing. It was a bandit camp.

"There's a lot of them," Hotaru remarked.

"I've seen bigger camps," Naruto replied.

"Me too, but that was near big roads. This is in the middle of nowhere. How do they make their living?"

"Good question," the boy agreed. He wasn't very familiar with this region, but he knew that the population was sparse in the mountains. "Maybe they make raids into the lowlands?"

"They aren't ninja so it's a long way for them," the purple-haired kunoichi pointed out. Naruto nodded. That was true. With nothing to loot around, how did they make their living?

"I guess it doesn't matter," Hotaru shrugged after a while. "We can't just leave them be, can we?"

"Is it part of our mission?" Naruto asked. He really didn't want to kill, even if they were bandits and probably deserved it.

"Can we afford to have them at our backs?" the kunoichi retorted.

"They are just bandits. What can they do to us?" The idea of killing, of becoming the monster again was really revolting.

"I don't want to find out," Hotaru replied.

"We can wait for somebody to pay for their extermination," Naruto tried one last attempt to weasel himself out of the unpleasant duty.

"Here?" his teammate looked at him as if he was dumb. Naruto sighed. It was time to admit he had lost this debate and steel himself for what was to come.

"Alright. We're doing it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~With Team 7~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This sucks," Shinta complained almost as soon as Kakashi disappeared from their sights. "Why do we have to stay here when Sakura might be captured? They might even be killing her right now."

"Hn." Sasuke agreed with his teammate about the sucking part. He too wanted to run into the camp and kill some bandits, not out of concern for Sakura, though if he was honest with himself, he'd admit he was worried for her, but because he finally wanted to fight. He had to fight to activate his Sharingan. He had to activate his Sharingan to grow stronger. He had to grow stronger to kill Itachi and avenge his clan. Didn't Kakashi know it? Why was he holding him back so?

"Shall we go?" Shinta suggested.

"Too soon," Sasuke shook his head. "Kakashi would hear us and stop us. Let's wait until he starts fighting." He didn't even consider the possibility of obeying orders and staying hidden. Gaining strength took precedence over everything else for the avenger. If he would get a reprimand for it, then so be it. It wasn't going to be anything serious anyway. He was The Last Uchiha and everybody in Konoha loved him after all. He didn't have to fear anything more serious than a slap on his wrist. (He had a really inflated opinion of his own importance.)

"Alright," Shinta nodded. He didn't worry about reprimands because he worried about Sakura more. And so they waited.

They almost missed when the fight began. Kakashi's initial attack was so swift and stealthy that his target didn't even realize he was there until his throat was already slit. His companions reacted swiftly, proving that they were indeed experienced shinobi. One swiped his tanto at Kakashi, who blocked with a kunai. The other tried to punch him in the ribs, but the Copy Ninja dodged. The fight was on.

"Now," Sasuke decided. He took off towards the bandit camp, which was slow to react to the sudden commotion. Shinta followed at his heels. They made it about halfway towards their destination when the bandits finally reacted to the alarm and ran out of their hovels. Most of them looked toward where Kakashi was fighting the two ninja, but somebody noticed the two genin too. He pointed at them and shouted. Immediately most of the outlaws turned towards them. Sasuke just smirked. Slaughtering opponents who didn't even know he was there would give him very little experience. This way the fight would be much more valuable.

Sasuke stopped when he saw the row of armed men running towards him. 'Time to show them why the Uchiha are elite,' he thought. His hands clasped together, forming seals.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" he called before exhaling a ball of fire. It was a good one, even if he said so himself. The flames enveloped the four bandits closest to him. Their screams were terrible and Sasuke was a bit shaken. Though he had seen death before, it was never by burning. This looked much worse than being slain by a sword.

"You bastard!" somebody shouted. There was a lot of anger and hate in the voice, though not nearly as much as Sasuke felt for Itachi. It wasn't going to give the man enough strength to defeat him. Sasuke grabbed two kunai and stood in a ready stance. This was going to be a good fight.

Shinta silently cursed his teammate. He had continued his charge against the bandits even when Sasuke had stopped to cast his jutsu and as a result he had only narrowly escaped the fireball. Didn't Sasuke ever look where was he shooting his fancy Uchiha jutsu? He had thought the duck-haired boy had learned after the lecture Kakashi had given him when he had done something similar during a team practice, but apparently not. He should just keep out of Sasuke's range. He didn't mind, it gave him more space to look for Sakura.

But looking for his missing teammate would have to wait, because there were at least ten goons in his path. He didn't worry about them. He was a ninja, they weren't. He grabbed a handful of shuriken and threw. His aim was never the best, but at this distance he couldn't miss. Three of the men approaching stumbled with shuriken embedded in their torsos. The others continued in their charge. Shinta threw another bunch of shuriken, but this time his aim was off. Only one more bandit fell down. And he caught more rushing towards him out of the corner of his eye. This wasn't good. But he was a shinobi and they were not. Even if he was just a genin, he was levels above them.

He grabbed two kunai and charged at the closest one. The man swung his sword at him, but Shinta ducked under it and slashed the man's thigh. The bandit toppled with a curse. Shinta smirked. This was easy. He turned towards his next opponent. This man was better than the first one. He blocked Shinta's wild kunai swipe with his own blade. But Shinta's other hand was still free and he used it to stab the bandit in the chest. The bandit's legs gave under him and he began collapsing. Shinta wanted to jump away, but his kunai got stuck between the bandit's ribs. Instead of abandoning it and jumping away he yanked at it again. This time something gave and Shinta stumbled away, his balance completely off. Somebody was quick to capitalize on it. The genin didn't see whose club hit him on the shoulder and knocked him to the ground. He just saw that there was a spear aimed at him. He tried to roll away, but he was stopped by somebody's legs. He had only enough time to be surprised before the spear landed. Then there was only pain.

* * *

Another Evil Cliffhanger no Jutsu. Sorry to whoever hates it, but this was the place to cut the chapter.

Next time: What happened to Shinta? And how is Team Tenzo's investigation going?


End file.
